Grieving is a process with no expiration date

Hi friends, 

Sometimes the wisdom and tools we share with others are what we ourselves need the most. Last week I wrote about acknowledging and overcoming challenging feelings through mindfulness, something that I’ve been struggling to honor in my own life as I navigate the grieving process.

On September 18th I lost one of my favorite uncles. My feelings of sadness and loss are ones I struggle with daily. His death has been a shock to our family and I can’t believe I’ll never get to hug him, laugh with him, or ride Harleys with him again. Grieving is a process with no expiration date. It’s messy, gut-wrenching, sad, and personal. Coming to terms with the fact that someone who was once so full of life is no longer with us is almost impossible to wrap my head and heart around, but I’m honoring the process and his memory day by day.

I’ll leave you with these beautiful words that my husband shared with me. Take care of yourselves and each other. This week and always.

You lose them over and over, 

sometimes many times a day.

When the loss, momentarily forgotten,

creeps up, 

and attacks you from behind.

Fresh waves of grief as the realization hits home,

they are gone.

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once, 

you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,

and as you awaken, 

so does your memory, 

so does the jolting bolt of lightning that rips into your heart,

they are gone.

Again.

Losing someone is a journey,

not a one-off.

There is no end to the loss,

there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat,

when it washes over.

Be kind to those who are sailing this stormy sea, 

they have a journey ahead of them,

and a daily shock to the system each time they realize,

they are gone,

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once, 

you lose them every day, 

for a lifetime.