About Kathleen M. Rehl

Many years ago, when a woman’s husband died, she went into mourning – sometimes wearing black “widow’s weeds” for a year or more. Generally, she remained alone after that year or perhaps moved into an adult child’s home. That was the case with my…
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A couple of years ago, I began penning poetry. My life was moving in new directions, and I wanted to express myself differently than with the prose style approach I mainly used before. I enjoyed reading poetry, so I decided to try…
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The death of my husband more than a decade ago was the toughest experience of my life. I had turned 60 just a month before his passing. I fully expected that at my age and stage of life, I should and would be content with my professional work…
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After my husband died, I continued to wear my diamond ring on my left hand for almost a year. Then I shifted it to the right hand where I wore it for many more months. I kept moving it back and forth – left hand for a few days…
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When good things happen to us, we feel grateful. We’re thankful for our family, a comfortable home, caring friends, purposeful activities in retirement or paid employment, health, life in a free country, a pretty sunset, and more…
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Soon after my book was published, I attended a community luncheon. Several couples were seated at my table, and we introduced ourselves. After watching me for a few minutes, one wife suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, I saw your picture in Sunday’s…
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Money and sex regularly rank as the most common reasons couples fight.

Research from LearnVest’s Money Habits and Confessions Survey, conducted by Wakefield Research, concluded that financial issues are more than twice as likely as sex to cause tension in a relationship. Read More

Her label said VIM bread ingredients included “whole grain wheat flour, raw sugar, non-fat milk solids, fresh creamery butter, salt, water, and fresh yeast,” with “nothing taken away.” Created honestly, with integrity. Authentic…
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I’m a member of the club women hate to join — the Widows Club.

When my husband died, it felt like a big part of me died, too. I lost the love of my life and the dreams we shared for our future. All gone in an instant and right after my 60th birthday. Read More

According to a recent Pew Research Center report, the number of people age 50 and older who live together with their unmarried partner shot up by 75% between 2007 and 2016. That’s 4 million mature adults who live together compared to 2.3 million a decade ago. Read More