No one was on the schedule to write for tonight. Lots of people may be away from their computers for the holiday.
So I am posting this as an Open Thread for grieving people who want a place to gather.
Please share whatever you need to share.
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.
Memorial Day is intended to remember the honored dead, which is usually defined as those who have died while serving in the military, or those who have died later in life after wearing their country's uniform in their younger days.
Any holiday so directly connected to death has the ability to push the grief buttons and pull the grief triggers of people in mourning: remembering parents, siblings, lovers, children, teachers, and other close relatives/friends. The loss can hit harder than usual on a day when all around is talk of death and memorials and decorating graves.
Lots of people bought cars and TVs and barbeque grills this weekend. Some folks visited a cemetery beforehand, and others did not. Some have no military graves to visit, no family and friends who died in wartime service.
But in the midst of three day weekend shopping fun and the unofficial beginning of summer, many are heart heavy because a beloved face is missing from the picnic table, or a particular pair of weathered hands is no longer around to help set up the new flat-screen TV, or a special voice is not being heard among others admiring the new car.
On this Memorial Day, who are you remembering? Whose life and witness and memory do you want to honor on this memorial day?