I call July “death month.” Both my parents died in July, three years apart. I’ve been through lots of Julys since Dad’s death in 2006, and I’ve noticed three ways I’ve responded.
We cannot necessarily pick the way we will feel on the anniversary of our loved one’s passing, however, we can prepare ourselves and use the day to further our healing.
Here are the three Ds we may use to address death anniversaries.
Distract. I distracted myself with an intense romance after the death of my father, and on the first anniversary of Dad’s death, I was distracted by the impending breakup. My heart was torn up in so many ways, I hurt too much to know which hurt most.
We may busy ourselves with activities unrelated to our loss. A certain amount of distraction is necessary to weather the throes of grief. Go to the movie. Spend time with friends. But we should not allow life to press us so far that we don’t deal with our grief.
Dedicate. We dedicated an hour to my mother around the time of the first anniversary of her passing. I joined with others whose loved ones had been in hospice, too, and we memorialized them. We released balloons, ate cake and talked about our parents.
A ritual that memorializes our loved ones can be helpful in acknowledging our loss. We may choose a public expression or a private one, such as visiting the grave. We may dedicate something we do on the anniversary in honor of our loved one. Again, this is a way of admitting the importance of our loss and fitting it into our lives going forward.
Dive In. We may immerse our day in memory and tears. This may sound like a real downer, but setting aside time to grieve is an important part of healing.
In every year since my mother’s death, I’ve gone over to her and Dad’s home and sifted through their things. I’ve read old letters and looked at old photographs. On the second anniversary, I imagined a conversation with Mom. I spilled out my remorse over not being with her when she died. She seemed to tell me she didn’t know she was going to die that night – so of course, how could I? It was a big step toward forgiving myself.
My husband looked over my shoulder just now and added a fourth D to this list of ways to respond to anniversaries – Denial. We can dread an anniversary so much that we deny we feel anything about it, that we are over the whole loss.
We may become part of our own ambush that way – because grief will find its own way to push through and into our lives if we don’t face it.
What might you add to this list? Do you tend to deal with anniversaries one particular way, or do you use a combination of coping strategies?
Copyright © 2017 by Toni Lepeska. All rights reserved. www.tonilepeska.com
Jane
I, too, have a lot of July deaths. My own father died on July 3 of 2000. Last year, my brother in law died suddenly by drowning and was buried on July 3. A week later, we said Goodbye to our yellow lab Goldie. The anniversary of my mother’s death also comes up in early August. Lately, I have found that I am just too busy to grieve much. This morning while I was walking, the words ‘Let God’ popped into my head. I am sure I’ve heard it before somewhere, maybe in a sermon or on the radio, but it hit home with me today. Let God shoulder the grief and worry. Just ‘let go and let God’.
Toni Lepeska
Jane, thank you for sharing this. I’ve noticed people say their loved ones died in months of extreme weather, such as a hot July. I wonder if the weather stresses the body…. I’m sorry for your multiple losses. What a beautiful take-away from “Let God.” Our healing comes bit by bit.
Sheryl M. Baker
Although I have not lost either of my parents, your article made me think of my divorce. That was like a death to me and every year for the first few years, I would mourn the loss of that connection – the commitment to God to be married for life or death that broke my heart. I am remarried now and notice that healing is continuing. This was the first year that the anniverary date of my first marriage came and went without me stopping to remember that day. I can’t relate to physical death of loved ones, but can imagine it will feel much more intense. Thanks for sharing. As always, your widsom is very helpful.
Toni Lepeska
Sheryl, divorce is often compared to grief because of the complete sense of loss. I had not thought of this applying to divorce when I wrote, so thank you for bringing up that point. I’m so glad you went past the date this time without notice. God is great and sets healing in our lives!
juliedibblewrites
Hi Toni, this is a helpful, straightforward post. Both my parents died in the month of December. It was not until I knew Jesus did I allow myself to really feel the grief pain without numbing or denying. I am going to share this with a friend. May God continue to bless your pen💙
Toni Lepeska
Thanks, Julie, I’m glad to be a conduit for the Lord as you are. May it bless your friend as well.