My two older children and I are sharing a common experience at the moment, that of grief. Not the gut wrenching, time stopping grief experienced upon the death of a loved one, but grief nonetheless.
For me, my two older children have now flown from the nest. My house is way too quiet. My day to day life is way too open and unscheduled. I know that I will find my new passions and purpose and routine, but the interim is unsettling and lonely and painful. Grief is a natural response for a mother who knows that her family of 5 will never be whole again.
On our 17 hour drive moving Mason to Los Angeles two weeks ago, Mason couldn’t help but reflect on the magnitude of the change in his life. He doesn’t know when he and his buddies from high school will all be together again, but he knows that the intimacy of their relationships will likely never be the same. Grief is a natural emotion when distance and time separate you from your best friends.
Connor called me recently, upset that several of her closest friends graduated Northwestern a few weeks ago. She doesn’t know if she will ever see these friends again, as her college reunion years will never coincide with theirs. Again, grief is a natural response.
I wish there was a magical potion to dissolve the sorrow. There isn’t. There is simply tears to be shed, heartache to be expressed and released, and the passage of time to help us establish our new way of being in our new circumstances in life. And, certainly, there is gratitude...for the depth and beauty of the relationships we share with others, for the courage to care and love and feel so openly and fiercely, and for choosing to embrace life and change, even knowing that grief will naturally come our way from time to time.
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