The holidays are right around the corner. It’s a time filled with joy, love, friends and family. It truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” However, this upcoming first Thanksgiving and Christmas will be the first holiday season without my grandmother.
My grandmother passed away in mid-January and it was very unexpected. She was almost 89 years old and she lived a wonderful life. Everyone who knew her simply loved her. She always had something nice to say about everyone and rarely got mad. My grandmother was truly one of kind. We joke about how no one in my family is like her. My aunt lived with her and when I go up to her house, I still catch myself looking for my grandma. We all still miss her lot.
It is said “time heals the heart.” Though this statement has truth, I wonder sometimes does the heart really heal completely?Especially after losing a loved one, I know this holiday season will be more difficult than any other, because my family will not have my grandmother there with us.
Thanksgiving will be the hardest because that’s the holiday my family celebrates at my grandmother’s house every year. My uncle who lives in Massachusetts comes in for Thanksgiving and we gather around the dinner table together. However, this year will be the first that not everyone is there.
This year things are going to be different and not easy. My family must be strong and remember that my grandmother would want us to laugh and have fun. She would not want us to sit around the table in sadness. For we must celebrate her memory. Though it will be hard, we have each other. I think it’s perfectly normal for us to be sad and miss her, because I know I miss her every day, but we also have to be thankful that we got to spend so many wonderful holidays with her. I wish we were able to get a couple more holidays with her but the ones we did spend with her were the best.
If you lost a loved one a year ago or ten years ago, you will miss them all the time, especially around the holidays. But you have to remember you aren’t alone. You are never alone. You have family and friends around you, who can make the hard days a little less hard. Remember this holiday season that even though your loved ones who may not be here physically anymore are still here with you. You are allowed to miss them. But maybe instead of being sad that they aren’t here, think of all the great memories that you got to make with them. And just know that they are still with you.