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Missing Family…

grief counseling, Holland, MI

Grieving losses…

Grief unfolds…my great Aunt died this week. She was married to my Mom’s mother’s brother. I recall special time visiting with her family when I was young. I found myself feeling sad that another part of my childhood is gone. The distance from childhood grows bigger with each passing day as well as with the passing of people who were a part of it.

I was reminded of my dad reflecting on my Aunt’s death and found myself missing him too. New losses help us release more from other significant past losses.

Until I allowed myself a good cry, I was out of sorts.

It is important to give ourselves time and space to process our emotions. To sit and allow what needs to come up and out to do just that.

Grief work is a process as our grief unfolds over time.

I liken it to a flower bud unfolding and opening up. At the center is our pain. A flower takes time to open and fortunately so does our grief. If that pain were to be exposed too quickly the fragile rawness would engulf and overwhelm us.

I feel sad for the pain I know all too well that my cousins are experiencing. They lost their father years ago. And now their mother is gone from their lives.

Even with grief there is gratitude too.

I am grateful to have grown up with the opportunity to have extended family close by to visit and spend time with. Families are so spread out these days and opportunity to share time with family often is rare. I’m thankful to have been able to know my grandparents and a couple of my great grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles and many of my cousins when I was a child. These experiences and memories enrich my life and help me understand where I came from and the my family’s story.

Who are some important relatives from your childhood memory? What makes them important to you?

Do Contact Me during Grief Therapy your grief pain can safely come to unfold.