2020 and 2021…what can we say? The world has changed and we are all dealing with everything that comes with the way things are unraveling. In addition to these world events, we are here with our respective widow journeys to handle as well. We would like to take a moment to pause and wish all of you the very best possible in this season – even with all of the changes occurring around us.
We are so grateful to all of you who read our blog and participate in our work. No matter where you are on this journey, we hope that our words and stories will benefit you and yours in your grief travels. Whether you are a new widow, well on your journey or just looking for resources for a friend or relative, we are blessed to be part of your journey and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you.
This year, we published our first book, The First Days , to assist those of you directly after your loss. In our blog, we were able to talk about some of those first hard moments. These topics were difficult to write; however, we hope that, by doing so, we were able to help you process those times in your life. We talked about the grandkids finding out about the grandpa before and how sharing those stories are so important and yet so emotional. Jeni found unsent Christmas cards from thirteen years ago and crossed the line to having been a widow longer than she was married. These topics, though emotional, are part of the journey.
If you have a story you would like to share with us, we invite you to let us know. In addition to all of this, we’re continuing to work on other publications to serve you as well. If you have anything you would like us to write about, please let us know.
Next year, we’re planning on adding to our site so that we can be of greater assistance to all of you as we share our journeys. Additionally, we are going to start a series of “It’s OK to be OK”. We plan to discuss those items that are OK that may cause conflicting emotions within us or conflicting responses by those around us.
During this season of busy festivities please take good care of YOU.
We wrote about Taking care of yourself in the midst of the ho ho ho – prepping for the holidays last week – lean into this idea. Balance your alone time with social and family time. It’s perfectly OK and healthy to say no and choose not to participate – if that is what you are feeling. If you’ve been invited to an event and struggle with what to do or how to RSVP – here are 3 Tips to Survive a Holiday Event. Boundaries in Grief that can help you take care of yourself when you are healthy. Making new traditions and dealing with grief may be particularly challenging. Our blog, Holiday Traditions in Grief can help to support you in dealing with old and new holiday traditions.
And, as always:
Breathe.
Rest.
Celebrate.
Relax.
Let HIS warmth and love surround you as we celebrate HIS birth.
May Peace and Blessings surround you this season and may you find comfort and joy in this season. Merry Christmas to all of you!
Teresa & Jeni
