Deal With It...if you can.

Last Sunday night was the annual World Wide Candle Lighting in memory of all children who have passed, regardless of age. For those parents left behind, even the grandparents and siblings of those who pass, dealing with certain times of the year has more than the usual amount of challenge. For some every day is as difficult as the last. It's not the same for anyone. Not one single person shares the exact same set of emotions or reactions as another. Each person's grief is as unique as the relationship that person held with the one who passed. My husband & I have been participating in the candle lighting event with Compassionate Friends sine 1999. My drama students host the local participation in this 24 hour wave of light by performing songs, poems, prose, and dance pieces that provide support, comforting and understanding. The message balloons we release, the candles we light, the food we eat is all done for our children we miss. Honoring their memory becomes a priority. I've been doing this long enough that I've had a student who was once a teenage presenter in the event now come as a bereaved parent. Grief is something that must be dealt with. It needs to be tamed...or it will become the shrew.