leading up to

Many times the lead up to a certain event can cause a lot of anxiety or trepidation. We anticipate the days with a nervousness or a greater feeling of sadness as we imagine worse case scenarios in our mind. It’s funny how our brain can truly affect our emotions in such a way that we actually convince ourselves that this is the reality. But in truth, the reality is that we do get to decide how we will respond to the events around us. I have found over the years that when I have a big day coming up around my son in spirit, whether it be his birthday or angelversary, or any holiday, the days leading up to are actually far worse than the actual day itself. Maybe this is our brain’s way of preparing us to handle the stress and sadness we feel as we grieve. We recently just got through Thanksgiving here in the US. And now we march on to the next set of holidays in December. Try to remember the actual day itself won’t be as bad as you are imagining. Your loved one in spirit wants you to feel them with you and for you to give yourself permission to feel joy again, even if in just tiny, little, baby steps for now. Remember to be gentle with yourself. Try not to let the days leading up to, take away from the love you feel for your loved one, or from the love they have for you as well.