We are coming to the end of another year 2020 and our final blog post for the year. And what a year this has been. Worldwide this has been one of the most challenging and life-changing years in history. The world and the way we knew it has drastically and dramatically changed….
Please see: End of a Year and Grief which covers:
- Introduction/Our Story
- Quotes on End of a Year and Grief
- End of a Year and Grief
- Covid-19 and 2020
- Our Final Thoughts/YouTube Video
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1. Introduction/Our Story
We are coming to the end of another year 2020 and our final blog post for the year. And what a year this has been.
Worldwide this has been one of the most challenging and life-changing years in history.
The world and the way we knew it has drastically and dramatically changed.
When all of this started my sister and I had said to each other, we wonder what our Dad would have said about this, and how he would have felt about it. We wonder this as our Dad was a realist and there are many theories surrounding this pandemic. We have just written about our Dad in the past tense and the feeling it gave inside, it is so hard to put into words. This is our sad reality, but putting it in writing, speaking it, seeing it written, it is extremely difficult. This is something that will never get any easier. We are still so disassociated with our situation that these things are still a bit too much (we have a topic on Dissociation and Grief which goes into further detail).
We remember 2017 when it was coming to an end, we did not want it to be a new year as that would be our first time entering a new year without our Dad. It was the worst feelings ever. The immense, intense sad, scared, overwhelming, worrying feelings were huge. Our anxiety levels felt like it was through the roof (we have topics on Anxiety and Grief, Social Anxiety and Grief, Anxiety Awareness and Mental Wellness which go into further detail).
Then at the end of 2018, we came to realise we had gone an entire year without our Dad in our lives. Again, when we reflected on this reality it felt like it was impossible for it to be true. We were constantly preoccupied with sorting our Dads affairs that we used as distractions to deflect from our reality.
Fast forward to our present-day in 2020 and nothing has changed, we feel exactly the same.
This is now the third year our Dad has not been with us. To this very day, we still cannot believe it. We are still extremely upset by it. We still miss him so much each and every day. We still wish he could be here with us. We know it is not possible, but it is how we honestly and truly feel.
We hope our Dad would be proud of us and all that we have done in the years since his unfortunate passing. The strangest thing about that statement is, if our Dad was still here we wouldn’t have been through the many processes we have, we wouldn’t have started this blog, and we wouldn’t wonder if our Dad is happy with the decisions we have made.
We were talking to my sister’s son’s saying that today “Monday” is the day we publish the blog. My eldest nephew Antonio said he wishes we could rewind time so that Grandad would still be alive, and then we could fast forward to 2020 and he would still be here with us. He then said but that cannot happen. Hearing that really warmed and touched our hearts, but also saddened us. It’s bitter sweet, but it also confirms what we already know, they too miss their Grandad and wish he was still here with us all.
We would trade it all in a second to have our Dad back here with us. Sadly as that can never happen we can only hope our Dad is proud of how we have handled matters since his unfortunate passing, and we hope he is proud of the way we are conducting ourselves and how we have chosen to deal with life through the circumstances we have been dealt.
We wish to continue our Dad’s great legacy in some way. Our Dad was a selfless, kind, giving man. He was always willing to help someone if they were in need. He was also very much for the rights of people and making a difference for them. Our Dad was:
- Co-Founder of his Local Tennants Association
- Member of many committees
- Volunteer for various charities
This is just to name a few of the many great things our Dad achieved.
He was an amazing:
- Father
- Grandfather
- Friend
If by sharing our story through our blog could do even a little of making a difference we would feel like we would be doing our Dad proud. We came across the statistics from 2019 (the year we started the blog) and this year 2020. The difference in the viewings for the blog have almost doubled. The visitors to the blog have also more than doubled. Please see table below:
This blog is not about facts and figures and numbers, it is a platform for us to share our Grief journey in the hope of helping to make a difference for someone who might be going through something similar or might know someone going through something similar. Despite this, the facts and figures confirm that our story is getting out in the world, this is more than we could ever want. These figures also confirm that our initial thought when we started the blog was right. In times of grief, having this type information available in one place can be helpful, beneficial and useful. This helps to give us a sense of purpose.
Our blog is our way of trying to turn our sad unfortunate circumstance into something positive, and to see how far we have come in the 18 months since we started this, it’s absolutely heart warming and all that we could ever wish for. (We also have a topic on Grief Probate Journey is 18 Months Old) .
We hope to continue building our grief platform for as long as possible. On that note, please see End of a Year and Grief:
2. Quotes on End of A Year and Grief
3. End of A Year and Grief
3.1 Facing A New Year Can Be Difficult After The Death Of A Loved One
“While other people compile their resolutions for the start of the new year which … for the bereavement process during the end-of-life experience of a loved one”.
3.2 New Year, New Grief | What to Say When Someone Dies
“30 Dec 2014 – The end of one year and the beginning of another can be difficult for those mourning with anticipated grief, too. If your friends are facing a” …
3.3 Grief: Coping with reminders after a loss – Mayo Clinic
“Grief doesn’t magically end at a certain point after a loved one’s death. … on the anniversary of your loved one’s death or other special days throughout the year”.
3.4 64 Things I wish Someone Had Told Me About Grief
“There are many things I wish someone had told me about grief before experiencing it. … you can avoid them for a while, but they will catch up with you in the end. … He died almost a year ago and I couldn’t get time off work at the time because”…
3.5 It’s Never Easy: 5 Things I Learned About Loss 5 Years Later
“10 Nov 2014 – I find it interesting that we don’t have to train our minds to remember certain days like they were yesterday. Good or bad, there are days easily” …
3.6 My Mom Died 3 Years Ago, And I’m Still Grieving Hard
“11 Dec 2018 – Even 3 years after my mom’s death, I’m still figuring out how to pick myself back up and push on”.
4. Covid-19 and 2020
4.1 Covid-19 has shown us that good health is not just down to biology
“Of all the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic, the most significant is how unequal its effects have been”
4.2 Covid-19 has shown us that good health is not just down to biology
“Of all the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic, the most significant is how unequal its effects have been”
4.3 Biggest News Stories 2020: Things You Forgot Happened This Year:
“20 things you forgot happened in 2020, because tbh, the whole year’s been a bit of a blur”
5. Our Final Thoughts/YouTube Video
As we are approaching a new year, we really do not know what is in store. In life you really never do know what is ahead from day to day, however, because of this pandemic things could possibly still be feeling uncertain, unsettled, unknown. But with any opportunities that could be approaching we would hope that it would bring feelings of hope, excitement and assurance.
As for my sister and I, as we continue moving through our journey we hope to heal, we also hope to continue sharing our story, and contributing to making a difference in breaking the taboo grief, and helping to spread awareness around Grief, health, and wellbeing.
It has been a rollercoaster of year, and we would like to thank each and every one of our readers, supporters, friends, family, and the Grief community we have become part of since we started our blog journey. The support, love, guidance and encouragment is appreciated in more ways than can be explained. It also has helped us to contintue striving with our blog.
We are entering 2021 with faith, hope and positivity, we will be prepared for challenges, ups and downs, but we will always try our best to remain focused and aware of our feelings as we continue along our journey of life and grief.
Thank you all, wishing you all the best for 2021.
Love, hugs and blessings
Grief Probate Journey
Grief Probate Journey 