Redefining How We Celebrate Special Days
When the worldwide pandemic happened in 2020, we began to see how people pivoted in order to still celebrate holidays, birthdays, and special occasions within the crushing constraints of mandatory lockdowns and mask-wearing. While much has changed in the years since, including vaccinations, boosters, and the elimination of mask requirements,…...
Grief & The Holidays
Losing a loved one at any time of the year is hard. Holidays like Christmas and Hannukah and the celebrations that usher in the New Year can add another layer to that grief. “Christmas music, holiday parties, and festive decorations that were meant to bring joy served as painful reminders…...
Navigating Grief During Difficult Times
Everyone grieves differently. When the world was shaped around COVID-19, any type of loss posed a different challenge, with obstacles that were new. We searched at the time for different ways to navigate our grief rather than a “traditional” journey. Rituals, gatherings, goodbyes, and other ways we typically found closure…...
Ways to remember dad on Father’s Day
Father’s Day commercials are everywhere, from Hallmark cards to the latest grill. The holiday can be hard to ignore. For those whose fathers are no longer with them, Father’s Day can stir up mixed emotions, including fond memories as well as grief that he is no longer here....
Memories Can Be Tricky
Memory is a tricky thing. We remember things we wish we didn’t and things we want to remember we can’t. Anyone else with me? Right now, I remember vividly where I was when the world received word that JFK Jr’s plane was missing and presumed crashed. I have no particular…...
Should Children Attend Funerals?
The first funeral I remember attending was for my grandmother when I was eight years old. I really didn’t understand much about funerals, especially in second grade. I remember being at the funeral home and looking at my grandmother’s memorial brochure and marveling at how close to her birthday she…...
Why You Should Acknowledge Someone’s Loss
Blogger Liz Millar recounts that after her dad died, she remembers returning to the office and feeling uncomfortable because some of her closest colleagues didn’t mention what had happened. “My life had altered in the most profoundly sad way and yet the people I sat next to every day acted…...
6 Ideas to Help You Cope with Grief this Thanksgiving
No matter when a death occurs, holidays are particularly difficult to navigate. Holiday memories of past joys are particularly cutting when we are currently grieving....
How to Help a Grieving Parent: A Daughter’s Guide
When my father died my mother found herself alone for the first time in nearly 60 years. Since meeting at 18 they had done everything together, from college to first jobs to big moves, all underscored by a mutual thirst for adventure that took them around the world and back.…...
Helping a Sister Through Grief – A Sister’s Guide
“Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” So begins author Joan Didion’s memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking” in which she shares what life and grieving was like after her husband, fellow writer John Gregory Dunne, died suddenly…...
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