Does the idea of talking about grief make you uncomfortable? Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, or making someone’s grief feel even heavier? You’re not alone. We live in a culture that avoids honest discussion of the most difficult things we experience. Grief is one of those very difficult things.

I wanted to create a way to support the needs that grief surfaces AND make it easier to extend care for those grieving. I knew it could be both useful and beautiful. While the concept of a care package was not new, perhaps it could be done in a new way.

I would not have believed that stories get better as stories fall apart. It’s only with the passing of time, of perspective gained through open eyes to others’ loss, and with the support of those around me that my story has indeed gotten better. For those going through the unthinkable right now, we’ll hold hope that yours will too.

Gifts can come alongside grief. It’s taken time through my own grieving journey to understand all that I’ve actually gained, through loss. The passage of time thankfully allows us to reap the hardest-won rewards of a grieving journey. We can start to lay down what it has taken away from us to more fully appreciate what it can give back.

The statement stopped me in my tracks. I felt many things in that moment as that simple statement sunk in. I felt sad. Used. Embarrassed. But greater than any of those, I felt validated.

Being able to answer WHY was really important to me because it seemed like it should shape what happened next. But I ultimately realized, there was never going to why big enough to rationalize what happened.

Where you fell down, I want to bravely pick back up. For many years, I gave you my best and I'm proud that I did. That said, I'm confident that while your choices are forever marked in my history, they won’t define what is yet to come. 

This was my Discovery Day, or “D Day,” as they call it. They are as awful as you’d imagine in spite of everyone stating they can’t imagine it.