Did you know that this holiday season there are more than 11 million widows and 3 million widowers?
Most are over 65 years of age.
Many are determining when is the right time to start dating again after the loss of their long time partners.
They might worry about other people's judgments, especially their own kids.
They always can count on their grief to accompany them through the rest of their days. The loss they have experienced, often after years of caretaking, maintains its size. But their own lives grow bigger around that loss.
Are they not entitled to their slice of happiness? Can we encourage them to live fully again? Can we be happy for new love?
As an end of life doula, I listen to many people's stories of losing their beloved partners, and their bravery in finding their way to a new life.
They stay close to their deceased loved one. They relish so many past moments of exquisite tenderness. They allow themselves the sorrow. And they continue on. One step at a time. They go through the grief and the grief goes through them.
This holiday season, here is to loving again after profound loss. Here is to life growing around the grief!
Comments