There are many ways to carry on your memories. Consider writing them in a journal to pass them on from generation to generation. You can make a memory book filled with photos and keepsakes. Get out all the home movies and have a tribute video made that you can watch whenever you are missing your loved one. Below are some ideas that you can start doing in your home to carry on memories for your loved ones.

• Take Generational Photos. Generational photos are awesome keepsakes to keep memories alive.
• 

  Vacation memories

  Take Some Vacation Back With You. Collect sand from family vacations and make a cool display in a vase.

• Make Memory Jars. Fill jars with memories from vacations and special events and put them on display.
• 

  Moving Memories

  Create Moving Memories. Frame your old keys from all the places you lived. You could even include photos of the houses.

• 

  Art Book

  Make Your Own Art Book. Save your child’s artwork and make a photo book. Use the Artkive app…take a picture of the artwork and it creates a book!

Memories are things that keep you going and are the best way to carry on the legacy of your loved one. Embrace the memories as much as you can. Hold on to them, and share them with others!

Everyone has to be their own hero and live life their own way, it is no one’s decision. If we have loved ones who are sick and battling cancer, we can not tell them how to fight it but we can support them. We can love them, encourage them, and stand by their side as they choose what path they want to take. I encourage you to focus on supporting instead of debating. Below 5 ideas to support a sick loved one.

1. Give them Comfort
   Give them something tangible like these “My Wish for You” Charms. Cancer fighters and their families can hold onto the charms and use them for comfort or strength when they need too. These small charms can be put into a pocket, a purse, or memory box for easy access.

2. Give them Encouragement
   This pink ribbon cross makes a wonderful gift of encouragement and support to families affected by breast cancer.

3. Send them Encouraging Fun
   Write an encouraging and loving message on a balloon, deflate and send in the mail. The will have to inflate it to read it.

4. Send them Sunshine
   Put together a fun care package of fun, colorful items to brighten their day.

5. Wear Your Support
   Proceeds from this t-shirt go to help a breast cancer patient in need. This is a great way to show your support and spread awareness. Or better yet, make your own Team XOXO shirts for the person you are supporting!
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As you are grieving the loss of your loved one, life can seem overwhelming. From moment to moment your emotions change while you are mourning. One minute you are smiling and the next you are crying. Because everything seems much harder after a death, it is important to acknowledge your small successes as you grieve:

• Getting out of bed in the morning to take a shower
• Returning to work after bereavement leave
• Eating at the dinner table without your loved one
• Going to lunch with a friend
• Returning a phone call or acknowledging an expression of sympathy

Try this Affirmation: I acknowledge all of my accomplishments.

Grief Relief – Set Yourself Up for Success

What is hard for you? What do you hate to do? As you identify these tasks, think about how to make them easier. Here are some examples of problem solving:

• I never did grocery shopping in the past, and I don’t like to go now.
  (Can I plan shorter trips to the store? Go to a different store? Order items online? Go with a friend?)
• I don’t like getting out of bed in the morning.
• (Can I give myself something to look forward too? Plan a visit with a child or grandchild?)
• I don’t like Sundays because they are too long now.
  (Can I break up the day with an activity? Go to an upbeat movie? Go to lunch? Go to a park?)
• I don’t like going to church without my loved one.
  (Would going to a different service make a difference? Can I go with a friend? Maybe I should not go for now?)
• My husband always pumped the gas.
  (Can a family member teach me? Can I go to a full-service station? Can a neighbor help?)

If you can’t think of any ideas to address some of your immediate problems, enlist a supportive person to help you problem solve.

Notice Progress While Grieving
People have been figuring out how to grieve for centuries, long before the mental health community began. You are already doing everything right, just as people before you have. Losing someone is painful. It is probably the worst thing you will ever go through in your life, but you are getting through one day at a time.

Let’s think about the progress you’ve made:

• What coping skills have you already developed?
• What new things have you been doing?
• What new roles or identities have you taken on?
• What new relationships have you developed?
• What are your strengths?
• What are you doing well?

The questions above all refer to restoration-oriented tasks, which you develop as you learn to integrate the loss of your loved one into your life. As you reflect on these questions, you may be surprised by how far you have come already.

How to Cope when Grieving:

1. Be Compassionate and Gentle with Yourself

The journey through grief can be long and difficult. Remember to be very gentle with yourself.

• Treat yourself as you would your child. Be kind, loving, tender, caring and generous.
• Accept that you have suffered a debilitating wound, and you need to heal.
• Think of yourself as in intensive care.

1. It’s Okay to Need Comfort
   Needing comfort and support is natural.
   • It’s good to be taken care of by others.
   • It’s okay to receive comfort…and lots of it.
   • Your wound is real and painful. Your world has been drastically changed.
   • Be willing to take advantage of the comfort offered.

    

2. Rest – Get Lots of RestIt is important to get lots of rest when you can.

   When grieving, rest will be at a premium since your sleep pattern may be disrupted. When you are tired, give yourself permission to rest at that moment—whether a mid-afternoon nap, morning slumber or an early night of sleep.

   • Go slow. Don’t rush.
   • Plan rest into your day.
   • Keep your schedule light.
   • Go to bed earlier, sleep in later.

    

3. No, you are not going crazy.Forgetfulness, brain fog and clumsiness are commonly experienced after a loss.
   • No one could have prepared you for the experience of grief…the searing pain, the sleepless nights and the change in your world.
   • These strong, painful, debilitating feelings can mean you are at the core of your grief….you may have moved out of shock into stark reality…this can be one of the most trying times of grief.

   But hold on, know these crazy and painful feelings will not last forever…the pain will soften, and you will receive hope.

Hope is not pretending that troubles don’t exist…
It is the trust that they will not last forever,
that hurts will be healed and difficulties overcome…
It is faith that a source of strength and renewal lies within
to lead us through the dark to the sunshine.
Anonymous

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6664433

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6664425

After losing my parents, someone once said to me: “You never really grow up, until you lose a parent.” This couldn’t be truer. There is something to be said about the sense of innocence being lost when your parent passes away. I was an adult when I lost my mother but the decisions I had to make regarding funeral arrangements and finances seemed “grown up” decisions. How often do we call mom or dad when we need advice or to make things better?

To help me cope with this, I realized that just because my mom died that doesn’t stop her from being my mom. And better yet, I know she is with me all the time now. Make a decision to connect with your parent spiritually. You will find great comfort in knowing they are watching you from above. Make a commitment to not lose your innocence. There is nothing more that a parent enjoys more than seeing their children happy. So as they watch over you from above, continue to laugh and play…because our time is precious.

A beautiful way to carry the memory of your loved one is with a piece of jewelry. It’s something that can be worn at all times to serve as a gentle reminder of the one they still hold dear to their heart.

Consider wearing a piece of your loved one’s jewelry such as a ring, necklace or cuff links. If you aren’t sure about what to do with a wedding ring of the deceased, consider wearing it on a chain or passing it on to a child. When I graduated college, my mom gave me a modern ring that contained the diamond from her wedding ring.

Consider having your loved one’s jewelry put into a new design or setting. Visit with a jeweler to get ideas or attend a restyling event at a jewelry store. After my mom passed away, I reset two pieces of her jewelry into new ring settings with the consultation of a jeweler.

As a word to the wise, wear the jewelry you design. It is meant to be a reminder of your loved one. Unfortunately, I was so concerned about losing the jewelry that I didn’t. I tucked away one ring so safely that it was not found again. Don’t repeat my mistake, enjoy it.
Remember, whatever piece of memorial jewelry you plan to wear or create, its purpose is to give you comfort. If you aren’t certain about your decision about what to do with your loved one’s jewelry, simply wait until you are ready.
Chelsea

Grief is the response to loving.

If you hadn’t loved so deeply, you would not be grieving so deeply.

Only the person who is incapable of love is entirely free of the possibility of grief.

The agony is great

And yet I will stand it.

Had I not loved so very much,

I would not hurt so much.

But goodness knows I would not want

to diminish that precious love by one fraction.

I will hurt and I will be grateful for it.

For it bears witness to

the depth of our meanings

and for that I will be eternally grateful.

From Scotty, Hospice Chaplain                                                                                                                     Forever Remembered – Source Books

Related articles

• The Half-Life of Grief (ptbertram.wordpress.com)
• Grief: The First Times Without. (babyboomersandmore.com)
• Glimpses of Grief (thelifeofkylie.com)

Sometimes we are only given a few minutes to be with the one we love, and, thousands of hours to think of them.

How would you answer this statement, “Because of you, I…”

_____________________________________

_________________________________

_______________________________

Below is how a bereaved mother answered the question:

 Because of you, I love a little more.

Because of you, I take time to give an extra kiss good-bye.

Because of you, I have a new favorite song,

Because of you, there may be dust on the window sill,

and I don’t care.

Because of you, I live today,

before I worry about tomorrow.

Because of you, I don’t give up quite as fast.

Because of you, I still believe in rainbows.

Because of you, now I can help or listen more.

Because of you…

~Eileen Wernsman, Loving Arms Newsletter