Something Old, Something New

Making a big Sunday meal to share with the family and having one less chair at the table is lonely.

Planning a summer vacation without your favorite passenger can feel isolating.

Watching their favorite movie during holidays may feel less festive.

Though these traditions can hold a sense of closeness as we honor our passed loved ones in their favorite things, it can also bring a sense of something or someone missing. It can be hard to decide whether or not you should try to continue those traditions or create new ones. This is a personal decision, and may change year to year as you gauge what you have energy or emotional capacity for at that time.

Gathering your loved ones near to make it through these moments is important, but so is creating new traditions. Maybe this year you try a new recipe to bring a new dish to your next holiday gathering. Maybe you visit a new park each year instead of your normal picnic spot, or start volunteering for a cause they loved.

Regardless of what you pick, creating new traditions can add value to your routine and give you things to look forward to. You can still incorporate their memory into your new traditions. You could decorate with their favorite color, volunteer at a place they loved, or visit their resting place as part of the tradition. Keeping a mix of something old and something new - old traditions and creating new ones - can give you a perspective of both happy memories and creating new. This can reshape our grief into hope for things to look forward to, give us positive things to focus on, or even just distract us for a moment to be able to enjoy a few minutes despite our heavy grief. No matter what you decide to try, your grief is not forgotten.

See More Support Options