Hi Brian 

Thank you for your kind words, I lost my husband in may after a 12 month battle with cancer & although I have had wonderful family & friends around me, I have found Christmas & new year very emotional, my mood has been very up & down, I miss him so much, & like to talk about Dave,  but sometimes I can see from faces that they find it uncomfortable,, but to me we had many years together, so it is natural to talk about shared experiences, I wish people were more understanding with grief. 

I hope you & your family have a good new year x

                                         Belle 

Hi Belle

Like Brian (who has been of great support to me), I too have very mixed emotions about this time of year. It will be 3 years this week since I lost my hubby and to be honest not a day goes by when he does not pop into my thoughts and yes I still shed tears on occasion.  Brian is pretty spot on when he says some people just find it hard to know how to respond when we talk about those we have lost.  This forum certainly gave me a place to share my thoughts when  I felt it was better not to burden others (especially family who were travelling their own grief journey).  With time passing as a family we openly chat about my hubby(dad/granddad/friend to others) and I did tell a few people that it helped me to do so.  They seemed surprised as thought it would cause me more upset  but I love to remember the good times as know we were lucky to have them.

I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my children/grandchildren but choose to spend New Year peacefully and quietly by myself.  We all have our own preferences but sometimes others need to hear them to help them understand.

As Brian has said I hope you feel able to chat on the forum as and when you might need to. There are many understanding people or read and/or respond and to them I will always be grateful.

Look after yourself.  Jules54

Hi Belle

Like Brian (who has been of great support to me), I too have very mixed emotions about this time of year. It will be 3 years this week since I lost my hubby and to be honest not a day goes by when he does not pop into my thoughts and yes I still shed tears on occasion.  Brian is pretty spot on when he says some people just find it hard to know how to respond when we talk about those we have lost.  This forum certainly gave me a place to share my thoughts when  I felt it was better not to burden others (especially family who were travelling their own grief journey).  With time passing as a family we openly chat about my hubby(dad/granddad/friend to others) and I did tell a few people that it helped me to do so.  They seemed surprised as thought it would cause me more upset  but I love to remember the good times as know we were lucky to have them.

I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my children/grandchildren but choose to spend New Year peacefully and quietly by myself.  We all have our own preferences but sometimes others need to hear them to help them understand.

As Brian has said I hope you feel able to chat on the forum as and when you might need to. There are many understanding people or read and/or respond and to them I will always be grateful.

Look after yourself.  Jules54