No throwback post today. This came to my email box from the email support group I’m a part of. It’s a really good article about dealing with the holidays and traditions after a loved one dies. I admit that I cried while reading it.
A couple excerpts:
…After a death it’s common to feel a lot of pressure for the holidays to be perfect. For one, your family has been through hell and they deserve a nice holiday. You may also want things to go perfectly as proof to either yourself or others that you are okay and you can still do the holidays with style despite your loss. But in the years following a loss, how could your holiday possibly be “perfect” without your deceased loved one?
… Although it’s tough to change traditions your deceased loved one was a part of, being together and being at peace should be the top priority. Don’t worry, if you want to reinstate an old tradition in the future there’s no reason why you can’t. These rituals are ingrained in your family history, they don’t simply disappear in the blink of an eye.
I’m lucky, in that really, Ian and I didn’t share the holidays. He was always with his family. And aside from last year, he had a habit of bailing on me and disappointing me on my birthday, so we’ll see how that goes, since last year was pretty phenomenal.
I’ll not write more, because that article really does deserve attention. It’s incredibly insightful.
Written 11/12/2014
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