Getting Through Annual Reminders of Your Loss

Memories linger on almost every page of the calendar, here a birthday, there a holiday, anniversary of the loss, etc. In the wake of your loss, those precious days bear a bitter sweet tinge, a little pang that the celebrations they mark will never be repeated. These days will never be wished away, even if you pull the covers over your head and wait for the sun to set. Perhaps nothing you will do may make them easy. But you can meet those milestones head-on and make them into a bridge expanding toward a better tomorrow.

Look Back -

Claim those memories, those bits of history which have made you and your beloved pet what you are. Get out the scrapbook. Call to mind all of the joys and struggles which formed this interrupted relationship.

Admit your Regrets -

If you are haunted by guilt or anger, say what you need to say in some formal way by writing a letter or simply expressing your feelings to a valued friend.

Claim your grief -

Give yourself permission to cry as much as you need to.

Survey your thoughts -

Your journey through the days and months so far, with all of its ups and downs. Take stock of how far you have come, of the unexpected strengths you have found within yourself.

Take heart -

However unthinkable, such wholeness may seem, it is, in fact, the end toward which grief's journey leads. Time, they say, heals all wounds. On those days, so special to your memory, face the truth of your sorrow and the truth of your healing which has already begun.

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