faith was all I had to hang onto, so even
though I questioned finding the cancer
sooner, being a better daughter, and even
asking God to give it to me instead, I knew
this was his plan. I do not like God’s plan
at all, but it isn’t for me to question or un-
derstand. I just have to keep my faith.
feel. I cry a lot. More important, I recog-
nized that I can’t do this alone, so I start-
ed therapy. Talk therapy has always been
something I turn to when I need emo-
tional support.
If you or a loved one is experiencing grief
and you do not have a strong support sys-
tem, please reach out. You can also go to
www.grief.com. There are many tools and
workshops available to help get you back
on track.
The fourth stage is depression. I am not
a stranger to this stage as I have experi-
enced it a lot in my life. This is another
stage I am stuck in. All I do is cry. Every-
thing reminds me of my dad and the pain
is severe. While I am grateful that my dad Till next month, stay positive and em-
(and I by default) are no longer suffering, powered. Much love.
I am tremendously sad. I am finding my-
self withdrawing from life. The simplest
of tasks feel heavy and difficult.
The final stage of grief is accep-
tance. I have experienced this
stage twice. Accepting my dad’s
decision to forgo treatment and
enter hospice was the first time.
Picking up his death certificates
was the second. There is a lot of
finality with these experiences.
Accepting these facts does not
mean I am okay with them.
So how I am I coping with this
new life? I get up every single
day and I show up. Even when I
want to crawl in a hole and stay
there, I don’t. I allow myself to
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