When you are grieving, this is already a tough time of year. The stores are already stocking their shelves with “holiday” items. Halloween is not even here yet, and the stores are full of Thanksgiving party goods and Christmas trees!! Although it is still October, people are already beginning to talk about their travel plans and who they are going to visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When you are grieving, just the sight of these items, or the mention of someone else’s plans can cause you to wish you could blink and it would magically be January.

One of the best ways to make it through the holidays without your loved one is to find a way to honor their memory. There are many, many ways to do this. For example, Home Hospice provides ornaments to our patient’s families with their loved ones name written on them. These ornaments can hang on your tree, or you can honor their memory by choosing a different ornament, or decoration in their honor. When my father died, I looked for an ornament that would represent “Grandpa Joe”. When I couldn’t find the perfect one for the first Christmas following his death, we put his hunting hat in the leaves of our tree. His camouflage hat was a very special addition to our tree.

If you are looking for other ways to cope during the holidays while you are grieving, please attend one of our Hope for the Holidays grief seminars.

Odessa – Monday, November 3, 6:30-8:00pm, 619 N. Grant, Suite 120

Midland – Monday, November 10, 6:30-8:00pm, 200 W. Illinois, Suite 190