Navigating Grief

“Your grief path is yours alone, and no one else can walk it, and no one else can understand it.” 

— Terri Irwin

The holidays are often a time of joy, togetherness, and tradition. But for those grieving the loss of a family member, this season can bring overwhelming emotions, a sense of emptiness, and an aching reminder of what’s missing. If you’re struggling with loss during the holidays, know that you’re not alone. 

As I am writing this blog I am personally experiencing this myself this holiday season. In June of this year, I lost my mother and I am really trying to find ways to navigate this holiday season without her.  As I consider this, I struggle with ways of wanting to remember her and honor her, as well as continuing to move forward. 

Over the last few weeks I have been working on some things to help me navigate through this holiday season:

• Acknowledge the grief - I think one thing that I have realized is that the emotion behind grief can come and go without warning and that's ok. It's important to understand grief affects everyone differently and you never when it might hit you. When it does acknowledge what it is. 

• Acknowledge Tradition - So far my family has mostly stayed on plan with what we would do traditionally for the holidays. However, I know entering Christmas that may not be the case, as due to how Christmas falls, we will not all be together on Christmas Day. So knowing that it might be an opportunity to start a new tradition. 

• Honor their memory - Find a way to honor that special person you lost, Personally I have decided to do something special for my family in my mom’s memory. One of my mom’s favorite birds has always been a cardinal. There have even been a few times since she has been gone we have seen cardinals appear. There is also a belief to some that “cardinals appear when angels are near” So this year I designed and wood burned a special ornament that I will be giving to my family members of a cardinal. 

  

• Spend time with loved ones - It's important to surround yourself with people who care and can help you as you work through your grief. As much as during my times of grief I have pulled away and maybe even sometimes isolated myself. It's important to know when you need people around and even be open to sharing with them what you need. This is something I am truly still working on but know that I am also working on finding the right people to be there. 

• Take time for yourself - take time to reflect and think, making sure you have time for yourself. Lately I started to journal and get thoughts on paper. I have also learned that it's ok to take a step back when you need to. Its ok to say no, I know that this could be hard with the busyness and expectation of the holidays, but make sure you are taking time for yourself 

These are all things I am working on this holiday season to focus and help myself work through my personal grief. I am hoping that this will help some that might be struggling with the same thing. Happy Thanksgiving!