Posts tagged “Holidays & Anniversaries”

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First Mother’s Day without Mum

Posted on 9th March 2021 at 16:09

Last July, just as I’d pitched up a tent in a field in Cornwall, I got a devastating call from my mum’s friend to say that she’d started coughing up blood not long after we’d left home and had been taken by ambulance to hospital. She didn’t want to worry us. The next day, we learned she had terminal lung cancer that had spread. My stoic, stubborn mother told us to go and make memories with the children, and that I wasn’t allowed to visit anyway, due to Covid restrictions. I did as I was told in between floods of tears.

When motherhood isn't as expected

Posted on 2nd March 2021 at 14:07

In just a few weeks, mothers all over the UK will be receiving gifts from their children and partners to celebrate motherhood. We would like to look at the holiday from a less common perspective, acknowledging those who may be experiencing more painful emotions than happy ones on Mothering Sunday.

Some of us may find this occasion difficult to celebrate because we have never been able to experience motherhood even though it has been one of our hopes and dreams.

Others may struggle with this day because motherhood has not been everything they expected it to be.

Supporting a grieving friend this Christmas

Posted on 14th December 2020 at 12:05

After a year of loss for many, we wanted to give you some tips on helping your friends who have lost a loved one, who might be spending their first Christmas alone, or have an empty chair around their Christmas table.

Top 8 Tips for Surviving Grief at Christmas

Posted on 2nd December 2020 at 13:25

Whether it’s your first Christmas without a certain person or your fifth, whether you’ve experienced a significant loss in the past year or are sad to be spending the holidays alone – so many of us struggle at this time of year because our memories turn painful, certain songs or decorations trigger emotional reactions or we’re heartbroken that our relationships are not the way we wish they could be.

Many of us find it difficult to enjoy the Christmas and New Year. What makes things all the more challenging is that we're expected to be in good spirits all of the time and that we see everyone else enjoying their Christmas holidays and thinking we should be able to do the same.

Remembering our Service Members and their Families

Posted on 11th November 2020 at 12:09

Today, we would like to remember the Service families and the sacrifices they make. As part of standing with those in Service they inevitably experience feelings of grief, the conflicted feelings caused by the end of, or change, in a familiar pattern of behaviour.

These families endure periods of separation from their loved ones, experience the loss of friends or deaths of service members from their units, and can experience the loss of their loved ones. If there are younger children involved, there can be an added complication of explaining their parent is never coming home.

When Father’s Day is Complicated

Posted on 18th June 2020 at 11:13

Father’s Day can be a very triggering time for many of us especially if:

your father has died, even if it was a long time ago

the father of your children has died

you didn’t get the chance to get to know your father and they were absent from your life

you’re a father and your child has died

you’re male and a child you conceived was never born, or was stillborn, or was born but lived for a short time

you’ve experienced infertility and there’s never been a pregnancy, as we establish relationships to the child we want and have hopes and dreams about

How to address Fathers’ Day with Children Without a Dad

Posted on 17th June 2020 at 11:23

As Fathers’ Day approaches, it is quite common practice, especially in early education, to make Fathers’ Day cards and even gifts. Sadly, not all children have a dad around. Their dad may have died, and it could be their first Fathers’ Day without their dad. Their parents may have divorced, and their dad might have moved away and lost touch. They may be in foster care and not have built up enough of a relationship with their foster father to feel comfortable with giving a card.

Father's Day for Grievers

Posted on 17th June 2019 at 09:31

For those who are having a hard time this Father’s Day, just remember:

It’s okay to be sad.

You don’t need to be strong for anyone else.

All feelings are normal.

You don’t need to grieve alone.

You're entitled to feelings of sadness even if your father is still alive or you have children of your own.

Widows Guide to Surviving Fathers Day

Posted on 12th June 2018 at 10:57

Whether you always made a big deal of Father’s Day or it barely raised a mention in your household there is no doubt that this year it will feel like it’s everywhere and unrelenting.

Continual reminders of the life you no longer have, rubbing salt into your wounded heart.

Unfortunately, however much you want to put your head under the duvet and not come out until Tuesday you can’t. You have to continue to be both parents to your kids who also are being bombarded with images of kids playing or bonding with their Dad’s. So what can you do to get through this as best you can?

Fathers Day when you're grieving sucks

Posted on 11th June 2018 at 10:05

Age is not a factor here, as in it doesn't matter how old you are.

If your Dad has died Father’s Day sucks. Yes I know that is an American phrase but it’s one that I think says it all really succinctly without swearing.

If you are a Dad whose child has died Father’s Day sucks.

If you are a Dad whose child has run away or gone missing Father’s Day sucks.

If you are a Mum whose husband has died Father’s Day sucks.