Made It Through the Holiday Weekend!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, b/c it is all about two of my favorite things - family and food! This year was hard b/c it was my first Thanksgiving without my Chosen Sister, Dana.  We didn't necessarily spend the holiday together, since we lived at opposite ends of TN, but we were important in each other's lives, and when it came time to say what we were thankful for each year, we knew that the other was thinking about her Chosen Sister. Dana passed away last December, after a courageous six-year battle with cancer, leaving her husband, two grown kids, a birth sister, parents, in-laws, and friends to face a year of firsts without her. We have almost made it through that first year, and though our grief eases a little with the passing of time, our memories and love remain strong.  My gratitude for having Dana in my life for 29 years remains also, and she is still at the top of my list of things to be thankful for this season.

If your holiday joy is tinged with the grief of loss, too, don't try to minimize or hide it. Feel it, accept it, and love yourself and the person or situation that you've lost.  Love is the one thing that can never end.