Coping with Grief on Valentine's Day-WYG

[KayC]

From What's Your Grief:
I don't want to alarm you, but I just had a look at the calendar, and it's almost Valentine's Day. I know some of you were planning to skip from February 13 straight to February 15, but I can't let you do that because then you'd be living a day ahead of everyone, and you'd miss all your appointments and favorite TV.

Valentine's day is one of those "I appreciate you" holidays, like Mother's Day and Father's Day. As such, there's a whole faction of people who would prefer to ignore the holiday altogether…you know…because the person they're supposed to appreciate is dead.

I won't go into all the reasons why grief and Valentine's Day don't mix well; if the day is hard for you, you already have an idea why. What I thought we could do is discuss a few options for making it through the day.

1. Take the day to be completely miserable. It's okay to be unhappy, and this is one day when you're not alone in your misery -- a lot of people hate Valentine's Day!

2. Ignore the day altogether. Ignore the obnoxious jewelry commercials. Ignore the cards, ignore the chocolates, ignore the girl sitting next to you at the doctor's office chatting on her cell phone about her romantic plans. Actually...you know what? Just stay home…stay home and don't turn on the TV.

I can sense you're beginning to lose confidence in my suggestions. It's not realistic to pretend the day doesn't exist, and you don't really want to spend the day feeling miserable. So let me offer one more suggestion.

3. Reframe how you think about the day.

Typically when we think of Valentine's Day, we think of romance. That's why the day is stereotypically hard on people who don't have a "date." But look deeper, and you see at the heart of the day is 'love' (pun wholly intended). Valentine's day ought to be about giving and receiving love of ALL kinds.

I can hear some of your starting to groan. Stop that; it's not as cheesy as it sounds, and you can embrace Valentine's Day in all sorts of ways, big and small.

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Friend and Family Love:

Big Steps

• Invite a group of people over for a casual get together or dinner party. 
• Plan a night out with others who have experienced the same loss. Acknowledge the day is hard, but make it your goal to have fun and laugh. Go to the movies and see a comedy, have a game night, bowl, go to a comedy club, sing karaoke. 
• Allow your children to pick an activity. Let them dream as big as your budget will allow. Grieving children need opportunities to have good, healthy fun, and seeing them smile will warm your heart a bit. Don't be afraid to acknowledge that being together as a family highlights who is missing and take every chance you get to remember and talk about your loved one, even if it's just to say, "Dad would have loved this."

Small Steps

• Let someone close to you know you are feeling down but don't want to be alone. Invite them over for a quiet night in. 
• Have a movie night with your kids. Choose to watch feel-good movies like comedies, animation, or cheesy old classics. Order pizza and put on your PJs.
• Send a card or flowers to a friend or family member who you know is also feeling down on Valentine's Day. Perhaps they are grieving the same loss you are, or they have experienced some other hardship. Let them know they are not alone.

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Stranger Love:

Big Steps

• Volunteering your time with an organization or charity is an excellent way to interact and connect with people while also helping others. Consider choosing an organization your loved one would have supported and tell yourself you're doing it in his/her honor. 
• Attend or join a group of any kind. I'm leaving this broad for a reason. Support groups are an excellent way to receive and give support, but there is also benefit in joining any group that gathers around something you like. Camera clubs, choirs, prayer groups, widow/widower happy hours, you name it; they all allow for the benefit of human interaction and recreation. 
• Set out to do 5 acts of kindness throughout the day. Big or small, they will put more love into the world and will have the added consequence of letting you feel good about yourself.

Small Steps

• Write a letter. Write to anyone. Write to an organization or professional you think is doing a good job. Write to an individual you know who is struggling. Write to a child or adolescent you want to encourage. Write to your deceased loved one. 
• Make a monetary donation. Make it in honor of your loved one for the amount you might have spent on dinner and a movie.
• Set out to do 1 act of kindness during the day. 

 

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Love for Yourself:

All Kind of Steps

• Recognize your limitations. Don't push yourself into an activity you're not up to.
• Treat yourself. Taking budget into consideration, take yourself out for a day of relaxation – whatever that means to you. It may be a spa treatment, retail therapy, or a monster truck rally; as long as it relieves stress or makes you smile, anything goes.
• Deliberately set aside time to engage in any activity that helps you cope with grief – exercise, yoga, journaling, art, etc.
• Allow yourself to be really present with your loved one's memory and allow yourself to cry for as long as you like. We all have our rituals and reminders that make us feel close to deceased loved ones, go ahead and engage in them.
• Believe that next year will be a little bit easier. 

https://whatsyourgrief.com/grief-and-valentines-day-2014/

[Rey Dominguez Jr]

I scheduled myself for a morning shift with the Red Cross.  Kinda busy, so I was driving here and there, being able to smile at the techs at the various blood banks.  Then the afternoon was for me to go and sit with Veronica.  Took some fresh pink roses which she really liked.  Spoke to her about goings-on at home with our kids.  Was hating all the Valentine’s Day adverts.  Wandered around the base exchange and stood by all the cards Veronica would go through to find one for each other.  That’s not us anymore.  Even if she was Type I diabetic she always wanted a heart shaped box of chocolates because that was a Valentine’s thing.  She would tell me to eat the candy.  I always had a box of sugar-free candy for her as a back-up.  First Valentine’s Day without my bride.   😪

[KayC]

19 years, one year, it's all the same except the pain lessens in time to a longing, an emptiness because they aren't here to fill it.

But there you are, spending your time helping others!  I'm amazed and awed, God bless you.  I'm sorry you come home to an empty house.  I can see the love you share in your picture together.

[Sparky1]

Went to the cemetery for Valentine's to visit my wife. I just talked to her for a few minutes and then left. Just realizing all the good Valentine's we had together and now it's just me all alone, no flowers ( only fake ones are allowed, but they're already there), no chocolates, no nice dinner out together. It wasn't an easy day for sure, my fourth one without her.

[shawnt]

My wife enjoyed the day and for the last bunch of years we went to the beach in Cuba. I miss her.

Instead I took my urges to give flowers and gave them to my office manager.

+ Next week I go to the beach alone.