The Girl in Gucci Glasses

To state the obvious: Grief is a normal and healthy part of the human experience.

But it’s not an enjoyable part.

At 32 years young, I’ve loved and I’ve lost. And each loss hurts just as much as the last.

This week I lost my grandmother, and although I knew she was getting older, it doesn’t make this loss hurt any less.

Once upon a time, I was afraid to cry. But after college I realized that it was okay to cry. And not just when you lose someone you love.

Crying is a cathartic part of not only life, but also the grieving process.

There are many reasons we grieve, but the most important one is that it allows us to say goodbye to someone we love—to acknowledge their presence in our lives and honor their memory by remembering them as they were.

Losing someone close to you is hard, but something that I’ve felt helps me? Remembering all the good times we had together—the conversations over coffee before work, the contagious laughter, and the funny, yet sage advice.

I want to remind you that it’s not just you in the world. You might not be thinking about it now, but trust me when I say that your loved ones aren’t getting any younger. One day you might wake up to a heart wrenching call that your dear family member has passed on.

Cherish the moments you have with the people that matter most in this world. Never go to bed mad, or with regret.

Nothing is guaranteed, especially tomorrow.