Why is grief viewed as a weakness in our society? If we continue to grieve for longer than a couple months people question, “Are you doing ok?” 
If we take the time to look at grief, we will find that it isn’t much different than love. Expecting someone to stop grieving is like asking them to no longer love the person they lost. We will always love the person we lost; therefore, we will always grieve. And that is ok. Of course, the intensity of our grief should change. We should not continue to experience the same level of pain. It should become more manageable, over a reasonable amount of time. Should we expect it to go away? Absolutely not. In fact, the belief that it will end often keeps us stuck in our grief, as we punish ourselves for not being further along than society expects. Be gentle on yourselves, and remember….grief is just another form of love.
Jessica, I liked seeing this most recent post from you. In February, it will be2 years that I have been without my dear hubby. The holidays always seem to have me walking two steps backwards on my grief recovery road. By the time I begin moving forward again there is another holiday or milestone anniversary just around the corner. Has it gotten any easier for you in dealing with the holidays since the passing of your father?
Hi Suzie. Yes, it has gotten much easier for me. I think year one was tough, but then year two was even tougher. I expected to be further along than I was, and when I wasn’t it upset me. I would say after that though it got easier. I began to stop associating holidays with my dad’s loss. I found over time that I was making myself sad. I would force myself to think about my Dad every holiday even if I wasn’t feeling sad. Now I am able to redirect my focus. I allow myself to think about my Dad, but then redirect my thoughts to something more positive; something that makes me happy. It has taken time to be able to do that. Know that how you are feeling, and what you are experiencing is very normal!