Has it ever been a couple of “interesting” years lately. Phew. The whole world has gone topsy turvy in ways that none of us ever expected. Recently, we saw a meme asking that we all just walk quietly into 2022 and we would have to agree. Let’s not rock the boat any further.
Add to all this intrigue of late the additional roller coaster of grief and loss and the world becomes an even more difficult ride to endure. It is our hope that our words and stories have helped and will continue to help you as you go through this journey called life…especially life after loss.
When entering a new year, reflection on the events of the past year tends to be part of a year end routine. During this reflection, we tend to look at what went well and what didn’t in the prior year. The fact that we are coping with our respective journeys and are still traveling is a major win. Please take a moment to celebrate that fact. Additionally, take time to celebrate your wins (both big and small) and take what worked into the new year. For the losses, acknowledge them and allow yourself the time to mourn and leave some of the raw pain behind.
As Torn in Half, we celebrate our major milestones – we completed our free download – 10 Ways to Move Forward After a Loss and we published The First Days workbook for those first days after the death of a spouse. It is our hope and plan to continue publishing materials to assist all of our readers in their respective journeys. Please let us know if there is something you would like to see in our publications.
We mourned friends and family that we lost this year. In 2021, we spent a lot of time writing about the difficult moments that occur after losing your spouse.
Our plan in 2022 is to spend some time talking about being OK. We want to address the topic of “It is OK to…” throughout the year. Hopefully, this will give you some tools to use and ways to address difficult topics with those around you. We also hope that these writings will provide you with some comfort when you make new choices in the world as it exists after loss.
May you face each moment in this journey with what you need. Just breathe when you cannot do and do what you can. Celebrate what you can accomplish–even the little things count.
We wish the following for you in 2022:
- May you express all of your grief and know it’s OK.
- May you find peace when you need it.
- May you find support when you need it.
- May you set boundaries where needed.
- May you be prepared for those firsts and holidays.
- May you cherish the holidays, anniversaries, traditions and special days.
- May you have the strength to get through all of your days.
- Remember this grief journey is not linear – it may be twisty and crooked. In fact, we can almost guarantee that it will have many loops and twists.
- May you find the tools to assist you through these challenging times.
- May you grab the wisdom nuggets from those that offer their advice (both solicited and unsolicited)
- May you practice self care and learn to take care of yourself first before trying to please others. Whatever self care looks like to you.
- May you find joy again. Know that it’s okay, good and normal to feel emotions again.
- May we provide stories that are of comfort and useful to our supporters.
We welcome all of your comments and count you in our blessings of our work. We are looking forward to a productive year and invite you to participate in the discussion. Please share with others who need these resources.
We’d love to hear from you in the coming year – what topics would you like to hear from us? Please contact us.
Peace, prosperity, love and blessings in 2022,
Jeni & Teresa
PS: For additional support you can download our free copy of 10 Ways to Move Forward After Loss
Torn in Half: The First Days as a resource for the first days after a loss – available on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
