Dear readers,
These are the hardest words I will ever have to write. My husband, Tim Ketchum, died suddenly last week of what was first thought to be an abdominal aneurysm. Doctors now think he may have had a genetic connective tissue disorder that weakened the structure of his aorta.
He was my partner in every sense of the word. He was my best friend, my confidante, my safe place. And oh, he was such an amazing father. He shared the burden of raising our three children with gusto, being present in a way that most dads will never be.
Everyone who ever met Tim loved him. Even people who only met him in passing were charmed by him. Warm, compassionate, loving, thoughtful. And funny as hell! I fell in love with him because he made me laugh. And even as life became more complicated and serious, we never lost that connection, that goofiness and silliness that made every situation easier to bear.
I feel compelled to share here because I am not quite sure what the future looks like. Certainly for the near term, I will be scaling back my time on All Day I Dream About Food so I can focus on my family and my grief. You will still see posts and recipes from me, but I don’t quite know with what frequency. I will be taking the easy route, updating older posts and sharing simple recipes. I have a backlog of some already that I can share over the next few weeks. I also have help with my social media and I am every so grateful to Stephanie, who has taken over my Facebook page completely for now.
Then again, I may decide to lose myself in the process of baking and create some amazing keto cakes. I honestly don’t know what I want or what I need right now. But I ask that you give me grace for not answering your questions in a timely fashion.
How you can help
I am so fortunate to have created an amazing community of readers and followers, some of whom have been with me for over a decade. I know many of you will want to help in some way. And I am grateful for your thoughts and your kindness.
The best thing you can do is keep coming to my website, reading my posts (both new and old), and sharing my posts on social media. Share to groups, share with friends, and pin my recipes to your Pinterest boards. This website has been my family’s source of income for many years now and views will generate much needed ad revenue. I know that ads can be cumbersome, but I ask that you take time to scroll through each post a little bit.
Another great way to help me is to purchase my cookbooks. In particular, pre-order my upcoming book, The Protein Advantage. I will not have much time to promote it now, but it’s something I worked so hard on. I would love to see it succeed and pre-orders make a huge difference to the overall sales of the book. It helps retailers decide how many copies they want to keep on their shelves. And I can assure you, it’s a book worthy of your time.
Thank you for reading. If you are a spiritual person, please send up some thoughts for the wonderful Tim Ketchum. He was a light in the world and touched so many people. I can say confidently that if you had met him, you would have loved him.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Our hearts go out to you and your family at this difficult time.
Know that we will support you however we can. I have already pre-ordered Protein Advantage. Take care.
I can’t send you flowers but I’ve pre-ordered you newest book and my sympathy card would say: May the love you remember of the good times with your beloved husband eclipse the pain you feel now. Be at peace.
Carolyn, I am so sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss 😢🙏
I’m so sorry for your loss. While I can’t say that I know exactly what you’re going through, I do have an idea. I faced a similar situation when my husband had a heart attack 8 years ago. Sending you hugs. And one little bit of advice. Let grief happen. Don’t try to stop it or “move on”. It will be with you always and the best way to deal with it is to accept it. Like most people, we’d take away the pain, if we could. But no one can do that so remember you have tons of people holding you up the best way they can. Hugs again!
Dear Carolyn
I am so very touched by your loss
So difficult to lose part of your self. They do say that time heals all wounds and to some extent that is true. Take time to heal.
I can’t tell you how much you helped me through your web site.
when I was first dx as a diabetic I thought OMG I can’t do this and then I found your site and you
The recipes gave me hope that I could bake and cook great food and cope with my disease.
God bless you. May your heart heal. Prayers to you and your family
I am so very sorry to hear of your devastating loss. No words are adequate at a time like this. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Carolyn, I cannot express how sad I feel for you and your children – I hope you take comfort in knowing you have touched, and will continue to touch, so many lives. Take strength from knowing you may not ‘know’ us, but we feel we know you, and we are sending good energy your way; there is no timeline on grief…..take all the time you need ❤️🩹
Carolyn, I’m so sorry for your loss. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through; but there is light on the other side of this tragedy. May God comfort you and give you strength. Take the time you need to recover. We are here for you.
I am truly sorry for the loss of your husband. I will keep you in my prayers and want you to know that Jesus Christ will be back very soon and will reunite you both. We aren’t supposed to understand why these things happen, but our Father knows the bigger picture and allows it. He will repay you double for your trouble. Thank you for sharing. I will continue to pray for strength and peace.
Carolyn,
My heart goes out to you & your family through this shocking, heart breaking, time. Thank you for sharing with us.
Lifting you & your family up in prayer.
I can’t imagine what you are going through.
Sending Hugs….
Love you!
Carolyn! I am so sorry for your loss. He looks like a git’r done guy.
God took him home for reasons we will never understand.
May GOD bless and keep you and your family until you reunite.
…………………. 😔✝✝✝
Dearest Carolyn, words cannot express my deep sorrow at hearing such devastating news. Please know that I am sending all my positive energy to you and your family for strength and healing.
I am so heartbroken for you and your family. Tim sounds like an amazing man who left this earth a better place. Losing a spouse is a tough thing to go through. Especially when you now have to navigate this thing called life alone after having someone whom you loved so much not be there anymore. I don’t know you personally, but I feel that you are a very strong woman, and even though it will take a long time to get your life back on track after losing Tim, you will forge ahead with your head held high, with Tim looking down on you being so proud of the woman you are. ♥
Oh Carolyn, my deepest sympathies to you and your family. I’m holding you all in my prayers. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😞
So so sorry for your loss