When you lose a spouse that you had kids with, you’re not just losing a key part of your life. You’re also losing your biggest support in one of life’s biggest challenges – rearing your children to become the best people they are meant to be. How do you do that when you’re suddenly left on your own? Amy Balchune went through this experience a few years back, and her extraordinary grief and healing journey led her to conceptualize Cosmic Parenting, a movement that seeks to support widows who are trying their best to be good parents while navigating the grief journey. Join this conversation and learn how Amy is making an outsized impact on the lives of the women she’s helping!   Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach.   I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others.    Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide/suicide-prevention-hotlines-resources-worldwide — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Cosmic Parenting: Raising Children As A Widow With Amy Balchune In this episode, our guest, Amy, has some very valuable information to share with you. She wanted to jump right into the information but she allowed me to take us on a journey through her life. When we do get to that valuable information at the end, it has so much meaning and power because you’ve learned who Amy is and resonate with her and understand how the information she shares is going to be helpful for you. Let’s get into the conversation.     Amy is here with us. I’m going to let her introduce herself a little bit and then we’ll go from there where she’s at. My name is Amy Balchune. I am here to talk to you about my journey. I became a widow at 40 and I’m trying to navigate this the best I can. When I became a widow, I had a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. It was the height of COVID. There were a lot of things going on, a lot of uncertainty. I was brought to Tina to share my story and connect with other people. We are going to back up a little bit. One of the things that we all find important is to realize and validate that although we may miss our spouse, we were a person before them and we continue to be somebody in their absence or after they are no longer in this world. I don’t want to start the conversation right there. I want to know who Amy is. Where are you from originally?     I am from Pennsylvania, a little town called Duryea. I’ve been a teacher for 22 years. I went to the University of Pittsburgh for my degree. What gave you an interest in being a teacher? When did you say, “I want to be a teacher?” Did you start with 2 or 3 other majors and then end it with being a teacher? How did that come about? I wasn’t called to be a teacher initially. I’m this little girl living in Duryea, a teeny tiny little town, and decided I wanted to make the leap to go to a city. I went in open-minded and initially had a Psychology major. That led me to a little bit of Anthropology. I’ve always been interested in cultures and understanding why people do specific things culturally. It still intrigues me, which also is a bit of my mission as well to understand how different cultures deal with grief but we’ll go there later. Initially, I was a Psychology student and then that led me to this idea of an Anthropologist moment. I was navigating college life and loving it. At nineteen, I was in my second year. It was winter finals and there was a knock at my door. I opened the door and my beautiful cousin Colleen was there. She gave me the most devastating news I could have ever gotten. My father died of a massive heart attack. Very early on in my journey, I experienced this. There was a moment in which, I had a dad and then he was gone. My dad was honestly one of my best friends. He would come to Pittsburgh and hang out with me, not even bring my mom with the family. We would hang out, connect, and chill. Very early on in my life, I had to understand this idea of death and grief. I believe truly that that altered my path. To be an anthropologist takes lots of years, money, and a ton more debt. I believe that what happened was that I went home, did what I had to do, went back to the University of Pittsburgh, and finished out that spring semester. I did go back another year but I was lost. That was my junior year but I knew that there were decisions that I needed to change and alter. Financially, I felt like I needed to get closer to my family. I was five hours away at that point. Ultimately, I took that year to be confused and try to find myself to the best of my ability. I did move closer to home. I left the University of Pittsburgh and went to Bloomsburg. I chose the path of becoming a teacher. I was closer. I was 1 hour away from home instead of 5 hours. I’m the oldest and then my sister is five years younger. My brother was only about 9 or 10 when my dad died. I was a little bit closer to help but also to feel that comfort when I needed it. Ultimately, that shaped my path and career. I would say so. Let’s spend a