Striving to Beat the Odds B eing a widow at age 31 is difficult enough with all the added responsibilities, pressures and choices that are thrown onto a person as a result of the spouse's death, but being a widow to suicide, makes the term surviving spouse literal in meaning. I compare my own situation to a mountain climber. The climber has physical, mental and emotional challenges to strive to survive and make it to the top. I miss my husband. We had our problems like every marriage does, but there is not a day that goes by that I would gladly deal with those problems and have a husband, than not deal with the problems and have no husband.
Some people condition themselves to handle life's problems like an athlete trains to run a marathon.
Other people are just natural born athletes or survivors. However, a few us us struggle to get up to change the channel on the television set, let alone be able to deal with the tragedy of a spouse's suicide. I know with the help of God, my family and friends that I will be able to start my climb to the top one day. Until then, I will try to maintain the progress that I have made and try to encourage others to do the same.