Grief!

        During the time of Joanne's hospice, death and aftermath much of my blogging was related to my grief. Blogging gave two distinct benefits to me. First, writing about my grief encouraged me to name what I was feeling. Being able to name one's feelings is a step toward healing. Trying to be honest about my experience was therapeutic. It facilitated my recovery from the deepest grief.

     The second benefit about blogging my experience was that it created a virtual community, many of whom knew and loved Joanne, they accompanied me through the depths of pain. Pain shared is pain lessoned. As my grief moved to a new place it was no longer the main focus of this blog.

   MJV shared an article from The Boston Globe.  It was written by a mother who's daughter died at age two of Tray-Sachs disease. The condition was diagnosed when the girl was small. With no treatment possible the inevitable outcome is early death. The parents, with wholehearted cooperation of  family and friends, decided to make every weeks Sabbath celebration a "birthdayshabbat" for their daughter so she could have as many celebrations as possible in her short life. The mother who penned the article wrote:   " We were learning to live alongside grief, appreciating its power to keep us close to Havi. We were learning that pain and love could coexist. We weren’t risking our hearts, we were expanding them."

    Indeed, grief is the way we stay close to our loved as we traverse the land of grief.

Takk for alt,

Al

               Joanne and I at our 50th anniversary celebration.