The holidays can be some of the hardest days after loss.
The holidays can be some of the hardest days after loss.
The empty chair at the table can feel louder than all the laughter around it.
You set out the plates.
You prepare favorite recipes.
You hear familiar songs.
And all the while, your heart notices who should be there.
There is no right way to survive the holidays.
Some years you may celebrate.
Some years you may simply get through the day.
Both are okay.
You can create a Memory Jar.
This can give the people around your table something meaningful to do with the love they still carry.
Place an empty jar on the table.
Invite family and friends to write down a favorite memory, a funny story, or something they miss about the person who is gone.
Ask them to read their memories out loud, so the conversation can focus on love, not only loss.
Fold the notes and place them inside.
You can read them during special times, save them for later, or open them one by one throughout the year.
Sometimes grief needs tears.
Sometimes it needs laughter.
And sometimes it needs a place at the table.
The empty chair will always remind us of who is missing.
But the Memory Jar reminds us of what remains:
Love.
Stories.
Laughter.
And the lives that continue to touch ours long after they are gone.
This holiday season, make room for both grief and love.
They have always belonged at the same table.