Hugs for the Holidays - In Memory of...

Holidays aren't always happy, especially if we're mourning the loss of someone we love. The people we love are supposed to stay with us forever, dammit!

This year, I am mourning my beautiful, talented and very dear friend  Sidney Patrick. I'm also mourning someone I worked with, who was murdered on November 30. And the children of Sandy Hook, the tragedy and horror of which makes my heart physically ache. On a lesser scale, I'm remembering others I've loved and lost over the years.

It can be so complicated. Is it a betrayal of our deceased loved ones if we have happy moments? Is it a betrayal of them if we don't have those happy moments?

This beautiful handmade blanket was given to me
as a keepsake by Sid's mother.

I've decided to just BE in the moment, to let myself laugh and cry and smile and be pensive, as the spirit moves me. To be grateful that I have so many wonderful friends and family who support me. To clutch my blankie as needed.


And I've decided to join in a small blogfest, Hugs for the Holidays, a way to support those for whom the holidays this year are not so Happy.

Here's the deets:

We have multiple link-ups on the sites below, where you can comment and/or link up according to the type of loss with which you are dealing. We have also created a Pinterest board called Hugs for the Holidays and will be pinning many of your posts there as well, if you would like to follow it.

You can link up anything you would like to share about your lost loved one: a link to a Facebook photo/post, a blog post about a particular memory, a Pinterest pin sharing how you cope, whatever you would like others to read or see. The link ups will be displayed as follows:

If you have had a miscarriage, stillbirth or loss of an infant link here:  fourplusanangel.com

If you have lost your mom link here:  sandiegomomma.com

Your dad link here:  mamamaryshow.com

Your sibling link here:  myinnerchick.com

Loss of an older child link here:  aninchofgray.blogspot.com

A spouse here:  gfunkified.com

Please visit the host sites, and leave your own comments and feelings, if you too are experiencing mixed feelings this holiday season.  Join in with your own post and link, if you blog. Or your tips for resisting the urge to punch some well-meaning person in the face when they became too merry with holiday spirit(s) to take a hint and back off.

Feel free to leave a comment here, too, of course.

Peace, healing, and yes, joy to you, in spite of everything.