Grieving Your Progress

Deal with life changes by grieving them

Image by amenic181 purchased on 123rf

A little over a month ago, my husband retired and we moved from Colorado to Iowa. The move went amazingly well and we are beginning to settle into our new, much smaller home.

So far, we like the house, the town, and the people we’ve met. This was certainly a good move for us.

So why am I crying?

Instead of feeling excited and happy, I have moments when I feel incredibly sad. Even though everything here in Iowa is fine, I feel like I’m grieving.

I miss a lot of things from my previous house, such as the window above the sink and the huge yard with lots of flowers. I also miss my friends, my church, and my favorite restaurants.

What we leave behind

Life changes usually involve making progress in some way. But regardless of how good the new life is, you still leave things behind, and you grieve them.

When your kids grow older, you leave behind bedtime stories and trips to the zoo. Changing jobs or going back to school means leaving friends, comfortable routines, and familiar buildings.

Even the best life changes can leave you feeling sad and disappointed. I call this “grieving your progress.”