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Dear Parents, Please Allow Yourselves To Grieve
Grief is a living story that needs to be lived, processed, and told—even for parents.
Parents are no strangers to the feelings of grief. But it’s strange for us to actually confront the feelings head-on. Somehow, as parents, we feel that we’ve lost our right to grieve. We feel that we’ve surrendered our rights to feel pain, anger, denial, and sorrow the moment we became parents. But how can we do that when parenting is a combination of both joys and heartbreak?
The Winds of Change Bring Both Grief and Joy
Besides the pandemic, there is much grief and joy to be found in how our kids change and grow. We enjoy seeing our children’s victories in their academics or whatever they want to do. But we also feel grief as they grow up into teens or young adults—especially when we’re confused about how their beliefs can differ so vastly from ours.
But grief can also be found in a pair of never-used baby shoes. It’s found in the open space on the wall where our children’s college diplomas or medals were supposed to hang. Our desire to find the answers to the typical “what-ifs” and “what-could-have-been” open us to feelings of grief and the ever-feared feeling of being vulnerable.
To Heal, We Must First Start With Grief.
Thinking there’s no time to grieve, some of us parents would plead and wish our grief away. But our grief is like the occasional dust bunny we find under our carpets. The more we ignore it and sweep it under there, the bigger it gets. But it’s in Living, Loving, and Dying that sometimes, we discover that our grief is a part of us. It’s a part that loves us and we have long ignored. It’s time we allow ourselves the time to grieve—especially in the presence of others who know the gravity of that loss firsthand.
Sometimes, it’ll involve leaving the Metro behind for a short while. And who knows? Maybe your first step to healing will be in Anya Resort, Tagaytay. A safe space in partnership with Atma Wellness Living Center, to retreat to for a moment where Living, Loving, and Dying is a journey taken with love and support.
Stories of grief and healing:
TikTok Star Mama Tot Loses 18-Year-Old Son in a Shooting Before His 19th Birthday
A Father and His Regrets About The Texas School Shooting: “He Would Always Say I Didn’t Love Him”
Somewhere Over The Rainbow: Rina Santos’ Story of Loss, Love and Hope
