About
What am I about?
I am a Momma Bear to my nugs, Joe and Crosby, and after working for a couple of decades in both the private sector and on Capitol Hill, I decided to stay at home with them which now means I have the best job in the world. I am also the proud wife of Clete. We're actually newlyweds who got married in our 40s and sometimes kind of make people want to throw up. #sorrynotsorry
It's just that the four of us have been through some real shit together, and now it's truly extraordinary we have become a family. Oh, I am also an unapologetic female cusser, have a warped sense of humor, practice Pilates, dabble in yoga, love to travel, drink dark liquor, and occasionally, I write.--in no particular order.
I am a Momma Bear to my nugs, Joe and Crosby, and after working for a couple of decades in both the private sector and on Capitol Hill, I decided to stay at home with them which now means I have the best job in the world. I am also the proud wife of Clete. We're actually newlyweds who got married in our 40s and sometimes kind of make people want to throw up. #sorrynotsorry
It's just that the four of us have been through some real shit together, and now it's truly extraordinary we have become a family. Oh, I am also an unapologetic female cusser, have a warped sense of humor, practice Pilates, dabble in yoga, love to travel, drink dark liquor, and occasionally, I write.--in no particular order.
What's my story?
On January 17, 2015, my husband Chip, died after two years and three months of hard core living with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. He was 31 years old at the time of his diagnosis. Our son, Joe, was a few weeks shy of his third birthday, and I was 35 weeks pregnant with our baby girl, Crosby. Accompanying Chip through this journey remains one of the greatest privileges of my life, and subsequently, parenting Joe and Crosby during those years and following the loss of their Dad, is one of the most painfully rewarding things I have ever done.
But just like cancer did not define Chip's great life, nor does his death define mine, but oh, how it transformed me in innumerable ways. Step by healing step, I have joyfully moved forward in my life.
On January 17, 2015, my husband Chip, died after two years and three months of hard core living with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. He was 31 years old at the time of his diagnosis. Our son, Joe, was a few weeks shy of his third birthday, and I was 35 weeks pregnant with our baby girl, Crosby. Accompanying Chip through this journey remains one of the greatest privileges of my life, and subsequently, parenting Joe and Crosby during those years and following the loss of their Dad, is one of the most painfully rewarding things I have ever done.
But just like cancer did not define Chip's great life, nor does his death define mine, but oh, how it transformed me in innumerable ways. Step by healing step, I have joyfully moved forward in my life.
What is this blog about?
After Chip was diagnosed, he asked me to start a blog. It served the functional purpose of keeping our legion of devoted friends and family members informed on his health of course, but more than anything, he wanted the kids to know how he had responded to his diagnosis. He wanted Joe and Crosby to know the kind of person he was and how hard he fought, every single day, to stay here with us.
I was born and reared in the Mississippi Delta which automatically qualifies me as a natural born storyteller. I was a voracious reader growing up. I read many of the classics as my older sisters were reading them in high school and then scoured over many of their college textbooks in art history and literature. I spent hours poring over the pages of Vogue, Rolling Stone and Newsweek trying desperately to broaden my horizons beyond my small town. I journaled and kept quote books. I went on to study English at the University of Mississippi, so when I started the Team Kennett blog in 2012, I found that writing came quite naturally to me. What I also quickly discovered was just how cathartic the writing process was. Writing became a huge part of how I processed our commitment to living with cancer.
After Chip was diagnosed, he asked me to start a blog. It served the functional purpose of keeping our legion of devoted friends and family members informed on his health of course, but more than anything, he wanted the kids to know how he had responded to his diagnosis. He wanted Joe and Crosby to know the kind of person he was and how hard he fought, every single day, to stay here with us.
I was born and reared in the Mississippi Delta which automatically qualifies me as a natural born storyteller. I was a voracious reader growing up. I read many of the classics as my older sisters were reading them in high school and then scoured over many of their college textbooks in art history and literature. I spent hours poring over the pages of Vogue, Rolling Stone and Newsweek trying desperately to broaden my horizons beyond my small town. I journaled and kept quote books. I went on to study English at the University of Mississippi, so when I started the Team Kennett blog in 2012, I found that writing came quite naturally to me. What I also quickly discovered was just how cathartic the writing process was. Writing became a huge part of how I processed our commitment to living with cancer.
But our story didn't end there. Reading and writing had also become a way for me to process my grief and begin to heal.
A couple of weeks before Clete and I got married, I was putting Joe to bed one night. In his soft, sweet voice he said, "Momma, if Daddy hadn't died, would we still be marrying Clete?" I told him we would not, because we would still be married to Daddy, but I explained Clete would still be in our lives. He would always be our friend and his and Crosby's godfather. After remaining silent for a few minutes, Joe said, "Because I really miss Daddy, Momma, and I wish he wasn't dead, but I really want to marry Clete." Oh, boy. The tears started flowing, but they were not sad tears. They were tears of such peace and understanding, because I knew in that very moment that he got it and that if he could maintain the capacity to always love and miss Chip while simultaneously loving and wanting to be with Clete, his little heart was going to be ok. I assured him he was exactly right. I told him how I missed his Daddy every single day and wished he hadn't died, too, but I was so in love with Clete and couldn't wait to marry him. We talked about how he had the best Daddy in heaven and the best Daddy on Earth and about how I had this great love in heaven and this great love on Earth. Joe then said, "We're pretty lucky aren't we, Momma?" Lucky indeed because we have love coming at us from all directions which makes our lives so very rich and full.
A couple of weeks before Clete and I got married, I was putting Joe to bed one night. In his soft, sweet voice he said, "Momma, if Daddy hadn't died, would we still be marrying Clete?" I told him we would not, because we would still be married to Daddy, but I explained Clete would still be in our lives. He would always be our friend and his and Crosby's godfather. After remaining silent for a few minutes, Joe said, "Because I really miss Daddy, Momma, and I wish he wasn't dead, but I really want to marry Clete." Oh, boy. The tears started flowing, but they were not sad tears. They were tears of such peace and understanding, because I knew in that very moment that he got it and that if he could maintain the capacity to always love and miss Chip while simultaneously loving and wanting to be with Clete, his little heart was going to be ok. I assured him he was exactly right. I told him how I missed his Daddy every single day and wished he hadn't died, too, but I was so in love with Clete and couldn't wait to marry him. We talked about how he had the best Daddy in heaven and the best Daddy on Earth and about how I had this great love in heaven and this great love on Earth. Joe then said, "We're pretty lucky aren't we, Momma?" Lucky indeed because we have love coming at us from all directions which makes our lives so very rich and full.
Welcome to Sweetness Follows.
Sheila
Sheila