To avoid talking about Gregory is to avoid acknowledging the significance of his major role in my life, his great love of self and others, his calm, his intelligence, his creativity, his grace in living with Dementia/ Alzheimer's, and his peaceful passing. It is to avoid reflecting on the pain of grieving, the pain of continuing on alone, the courage to remember the good times and the bad, and to hold hope for the future. It is to avoid thanking family and friends who helped to make our life whole, who respected our relationship, and who freely shared their love with us. We send you our love!
Speak of Gregory as if he were in the next room. Now in the 'next room' of another stratum, while out of your sight he is still in your heart. Why should you pretend to move on before it is time?
ReplyDeleteDo you remember Peter McWilliams? I was reading homilies, cliches and quotations about grief and saw his name and 'Surviving the Loss of a Love' in the references at the end of an article. I had not thought of him in years.
Yes, just in the next room.
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