Grief Is…

On Wednesday 10th April, the time finally came to say goodbye to my best friend and partner in crime, the sweetest dog the world has ever known, Bob the Bichon. Regular readers of my blog may remember my post from last year, Bob the Bichon and the Brontës where I documented Bob’s arrival with our family 8 years ago, his transformation from scruffy and frightened rescue dog to happy and pampered pooch, and our shared love of Haworth, home of the Brontës, a place Bob enjoyed visiting many times. This has been a difficult few days as we adjust to life without our little fluffy friend and I plan on writing a more substantial tribute to Bob in the coming weeks, but for now I thought I’d use this post to share my views of what grief is.

In happier times at St. Bee’s in 2014

Grief is wanting the whole world to stop.

Grief is knowing the whole world won’t stop.

Grief is not wanting to think about those we’ve lost.

Grief is never wanting to forget those who are no longer with us.

Grief is needing to carry on.

Grief is not wanting to carry on.

Grief is trying to adjust.

Grief is wanting to live in the past.

Grief is knowing you have to move forward.

Grief is watching the days slip by and the gulf between us and our lost loved ones increasing.

Grief is remembering the good times.

Grief is trying not to focus on the bad times.

Grief is wishing we’d done more for our lost loved ones.

Grief is remembering what we did do for our lost loved ones.

Grief is remembering what those who have left us did for us.

Grief is collective.

Grief is individual.

Grief is selfish.

Grief is cruel.

Grief is healthy for it shows our ability to feel.

Grief is eternal.

Rest in peace, sweet boy.

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