“No matter how heavy the memories fall upon my heart, Lord, help me to tell them with heart. ”
When you are amidst COVID19 and restrictions of togetherness separate the typical ways that you would grieve with a large family funeral gathered then you search for your ways to extend remembrance that connects you across the way.
Yesterday I posted about my presence via Facetime for my grandpa’s funeral with my family states away. I will be honest and voice that it was difficult but I chose my peace to accept it and make it as memorable and connecting across the way. I knew that in order to receive the emotional asking of it all that I needed a secluded, quiet place and we decided that it would only be me to log into the funeral so it was not distracting for them who were there.
I took images and captured moments that I knew I would be walking through with my children the next day for our own moment to process the burial and funeral. I shared these in the blog : “tear stained ground: a covid19 funeral.”
Today we used our writing prompt journal time to pour out some of our favorite memories of our pawpaw together. We spoke them out with detail and then used a memory making tree to plant them in our hearts and have a visual of our own kids “graveside service” in honor of his life.
Grief always has room for remembrance spoken of memories shared between loved ones and even when it is difficult to accept not having more physical memories to create, the ones invested will carry on for a lifetime.
Comfort of Memory sharing together.
With a pen and paper in hand we spoke of our memories shared throughout the years together and wrote them down to hang on a tree branch handpicked by the kids.
Honoring the life we have lived with Pawpaw thru written and spoken word.
A flower pot that was my dear grandmother’s who passed away last year embraced a tree full of my grandpa’s treasured memories planted by my tribe in our own “graveside ceremony together.”
Invested in love.