No one is on the schedule to write for tonight.
So I was just going to post an Open Thread for grieving people who want a place to gather.
Then I thought of a topic.
I've been a political junkie since I was ten years old. I've shared before about how my mom taught me how to be a Democrat. Even during the years when we weren't getting along very well, we could always talk about politics.
So with the tumultuous political events this week, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and the end of DOMA and Prop H8, I find myself missing those lively conversations with her. I wonder what she would have said if she had been alive last week as decision after decision rolled out of the Court. I wonder how she would have argued with her conservative brother (also long dead) about marriage equality. She was as open-minded as he was closed-minded.
And as I write this I am also remembering a very dear college friend, a man I loved very very much, who died from AIDS right before the good drugs became available, who never believed that marriage to another man would ever be possible for him in a million years. Not to mention other gay friends who died still in the closet. What would they say if they were alive now to see the historical events unfolding?
Sometimes when I see big news events I get a sharp pang of wishing I could pick up the phone and call my mom and yammer excitedly about the headlines.
As I get older there are more and more of these people to miss.
So that's my suggested topic for tonight. Is there someone you really wanted to talk to last week to share infuriating/exciting reactions coming out of the Supreme Court, but death has put him or her beyond your reach? When there is big news, do you reach for the phone and then hang up with a sigh realizing once again that the person you really want to talk to about it is now gone, perhaps long gone?
As modern life marches on with such a rapid pace of change, is there someone who repeatedly comes to your mind with the thought:
If only s/he were alive to see this?
Welcome, fellow travelers on the grief journey
and a special welcome to anyone new to The Grieving Room.
We meet every Monday evening.
Whether your loss is recent, or many years ago;
whether you've lost a person, or a pet;
or even if the person you're "mourning" is still alive,
("pre-grief" can be a very lonely and confusing time),
you can come to this diary and say whatever you need to say.
We can't solve each other's problems,
but we can be a sounding board and a place of connection.
Unlike a private journal
here, you know: your words are read by people who
have been through their own hell.
There's no need to pretty it up or tone it down..
It just is.