A daughter’s journey through grief
Grieving the Loss of a Family Home
How a perfect summer opened the door to unresolved grief
The older I get, the more I realize that joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. Lately, I cannot seem to experience joy without a little rain shower of grief falling on it.
I sat on my deck recently and realized this has been the happiest summer I have spent since I was a child. It is our first full summer in our new home in the mountains. The weather has been perfection. We have spent time canoeing, swimming, picnicking, eating outdoors, gardening, and sharing meals with friends. I have read more this summer than I have in a long time. It has been a relaxing, enjoyable summer.
Thinking about the perfection of this summer, I was suddenly gripped by an inexplicable grief. The grief seemed incongruous to the joy I was feeling. As tears streamed down my face I sat with the grief until its origin was revealed.
I am grieving for my mother, but also for the loss of my childhood home.
When I was a child I had summers like this one. Endless days of carefree fun. Picnics. Hikes in the woods. Days spent on the lake, swimming and skiing. Lazy afternoons on the porch swing with my nose in a book. Games in the…
