You Are Not Alone in This

Grief has a way of making the whole world go quiet, even when everyone around you keeps moving. If you found your way here today, I want you to know something before anything else: whatever you're carrying right now, you don't have to carry it perfectly, and you don't have to carry it alone.

There's a particular kind of ache that comes with losing someone — or something — that mattered. It doesn't follow a schedule. It shows up in grocery store aisles, in songs on the radio, in the quiet seconds right before sleep. If you've been told grief should look a certain way, or last a certain amount of time, please set that expectation down. It was never true.

Here's what I've come to believe, and what I hope you'll consider today:

Love doesn't end just because a chapter does. The connection you had — with a parent, a child, a version of yourself, a dream you laid to rest — doesn't simply vanish. It changes shape. Sometimes it shows up as a memory that makes you laugh instead of cry. Sometimes it's a feeling you can't quite explain, a sense that you're being watched over, a coincidence too gentle to be random.

You don't have to believe in anything in particular for this to be true. You just have to stay open to the possibility that it's not over — that endings and love can coexist, and that healing isn't about forgetting. It's about learning how to carry what remains.

A few gentle reminders, for today especially:

• You are allowed to grieve at your own pace. There is no finish line.

• Small moments of peace are not betrayals of your loss — they're proof you're healing.

• Reaching out for support, whether to a friend, a community, or a professional, is strength, not weakness.

• Signs, dreams, and quiet feelings of connection are worth paying attention to, not dismissing.

If today is a hard day, be as kind to yourself as you would be to someone you love. And if today is a good day, let yourself have it without guilt.

You are still here. They are still with you, in whatever way that means for you. And this — however it feels right now — is not the end of your story.

With love,

Wendy Palmer Samons