What Will You Choose?

You just received a phone call letting you know that your friend has lost a loved one. You now have a decision to make…What kind of supporter do you want to be?

There are many ways to support a loved one after a loss. As a friend you have the right to choose the most appropriate path for you in the moment. There are times that you may choose to be the best supporter you can be, and other times you may shy away from the responsibility due to personal circumstances or your own emotional pain.

Here are a few common ways people respond when they are called upon to support a grieving loved one:

1. The Listener – The person that allows you to talk about your feelings without telling you how you should feel.

2. The Doer – The person that jumps right in and takes care of everyday tasks. They bring you groceries, pick up your kids from school, they make sure people are notified about funeral arrangements and generally take care of those daily tasks that you are not up to doing.

3. The Cheerleader – The person that lifts your spirits when you can barely get out of bed. They are there to get you out of the house and will take you on an adventure to brighten your day.

4. The Brief Encounter – The person that comes to the funeral, sends you a card or flowers, but generally believes that grief ends at the funeral and there is not much more that they can do for you. Their support is brief but sincere.

5. The No Show – The person that is not able to be supportive for their own personal reason. They may be uncomfortable with talking about death and loss or there may be life circumstances that make them unavailable.

As you travel through the grief recovery journey with a friend, you may find that you are all of these types of supporters and a whole lot more. Grief is not a linear process; it has many peaks and valleys. As your grieving friend’s needs change, so too will the type of support they need.

When choosing how you will support a grieving loved one, consider the following:

• Lead with your strength. We all have our strengths that come out when a difficult situation arises. If you are a great listener, be a great listener. If you are a doer, help your friend with daily tasks.
• Stretch yourself a little to learn more about yourself and how you feel about grief and death. You may find a blessing for yourself hidden inside the journey.
• Know your limits. We all have our limitations and we can’t be all things to all people. Do the best you can in the moment.
• Ask for help if you are over your head. A grieving friend may require more assistance than a lay person can handle. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your local grief support group or a grief counselor.

After losing many friends and family over the years, the one thing I have learned is that the right people show up at the right time. Often it is not the person we thought it would be. I have to admit that it took me some time to forgive those friends that were not there for me after my mother passed away. But I have come to realize that it is more important to be grateful for those that were there and understand that those that were not had their reasons.

The choice is yours…what will you choose?

© 2011 Lori Pederson
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Lori Pederson, Founder of I Did Not Know What to Say, a website created to inspire and to provide you with tools to assist a love one through the grieving process. If you would like our free newsletter on how to assist your friends and family members through the journey of restoring balance in their life after the death of a love one, please visit our website at www.ididnotknowwhattosay.com.

Grief Support Discussion Topics – We invite you to share your favorite Sympathy Verse or Poem.

Grief Support Discussion Topics – We invite you to share your favorite Sympathy Verse or Poem.

What is your favorite Sympathy Verse or Poem?

We invite you to share your favorite Sympathy Verse or Poem in the comment section below.

Here are a few of our favorites:

May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall—
You do not walk alone.
~ Irish Blessing

If I Could Catch A Rainbow
If I Could Catch A Rainbow, I Would Do It Just For You
And Share With You Its Beauty, On The Days You’re Feeling Blue
If I Could Build A Mountain, You Could Call Your Very Own
A Place To Find Serenity; A Place To Be Alone…….
If I Could Take Your Troubles , I Would Toss Them In The Sea
But All These Things I’m Finding, Are Impossible For Me
I Cannot Build A Mountain, Or Catch A Rainbow Fair
But Let Me Be What I Know Best ….A Friend That’s Always There..

‘Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but live in thankfulness that he was’
~Hebrew proverb

Perhaps they are not
stars in the sky,
but rather openings
where our loved ones
shine down
to let us know they
are happy.
~Eskimo Proverb

Those we love remain with us for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never be more than a thought apart,
for as long as there is memory, they’ll live on in the heart.
~Author Unknown

There will come a day
when your tears of sorrow
will softly flow into tears of remembrance…
and your heart will begin to heal itself…
and grieving will be interrupted by episodes of joy…
and you will hear the whisper of hope.
There will come a day
when you will welcome the tears of remembrance…
as a sun shower of the soul…
a turning of the tide…
a promise of peace.
There will come a day when you will…
risk loving…
go on believing…
and treasure the tears of remembering.
~The Comfort Company

May the long time sun shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide your way home.
~Gaelic Blessing

Share Your Story

We invite you to Share Your Story on how your friends and family assisted you in restoring balance in your life after a loss. Please submit your inspirational stories, letters/cards that have reached your heart, a favorite quote or poem, an unforgettable adventure/trip, a favorite song, an inspirational movie, a book that touched your life or a list of what you wished your friends had done for you.

We hope by sharing your story you will inspire others to give the gift of love and compassion to their loved ones that are grieving.

How To Submit Your Story

Stories may be submitted in writing or in video format.  Please email your story to us at:

By Email: info@ididnotknowwhattosay.com

Please include your Name, the name of the person who wrote the submission (if different) and your address, so we may contact you should we use your submission.

Your contact information will only be used to contact you should we wish to post your submission on our website or in our upcoming book “I Did Not Know What to Say”. We will never sell your information to any third party vendor.

If your submission is used on our website or in our upcoming book “I Did Not Know What to Say”, we will be sure that both you and the author are credited for your submission. If you wish to stay anonymous, please note that on your submission.

To view inspirational messages that others have contributed, please visit our Inspiration page for thoughts and ideas.

Thank you for your contribution!

Lori Pederson
Founder, I Did Not Know What To Say.com

In Loving Memory of a Widow: Quiet Reflections…and Loud Actions

Guest Post from Carole Brody Fleet  
http://widowswearstilettos.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-loving-memory-of-widow-quiet.html

Today is a very quiet day.

 

Make no mistake – it’s still a typical Tuesday at work.  Lots to do, lots to write, lots of deadlines, emails, phone calls…

Lots of…stuff.

 

But it’s still a very quiet day.

 

It’s one of those rare times where I struggle for words – but not for tears.  Tears are coming easily.

 

Because we lost one of our own yesterday.

 

She was one of our own because she was a member of our widowed community.  She belonged to every single one of us.

 

Every single widow/er who knows the incredible pain and despair.

 

Every single organization who seeks to help and support the widowed community.

 

Every single organization who is dedicated to allaying suffering and bringing healing to those in pain.

 

She was one of us.

 

I did not know her personally – but that really doesn’t matter.  She was a part of our community.

 

She was one of us.

 

The question of what causes someone to take tragic measures always looms large.  And in the days to come, many will ask that question.  Many close to her will suffer from the guilt that such a tragedy leaves in its wake.  People will ask questions:

 

“Were there any signs?”

 

“Why didn’t she get help?”

 

“How could she do ‘this’ to her children?”

 

All questions for which there may never be any answers.  But I do know this.

 

Sometimes there are no “signs”.

 

Sometimes a person doesn’t know how to ask for help – or thinks that it makes them look weak or wimpy to look at another person and say, “I can’t deal with this”.

 

And she did nothing “to” her children.  For as I have said in the past, oftentimes a person who takes their own life isn’t necessarily “choosing” to leave…it is simply too painful for them to stay.

 

A horrifically permanent solution to what can be a temporary situation. 

 

I don’t know of any widow support organization who has not intervened at one time or another on behalf of a widow/er in despair.  Many of us have sought training to do so as effectively as possible.  Recalling the time years ago that I was on vacation and received a letter via email that mentioned suicide, I now travel with the telephone number of crisis hotlines at the ready…just in case. 

In the days to come, there will be pain of unbelievable measure.  There will be much speculation.  At some point in time, there may even be blame assessed.  And at least one person will say something that is unbelievably mind-numbingly stupid…

 

But not from our community.  Never from the widowed.

 

Because we’ve been there.

 

We know that pain.  We know the despair. 

 

We’ve been startled by the sound of feral wailing that came from within ourselves because the pain in the pit of our stomachs and the breaking of our hearts was almost too much to bear.

 

We’ve suffered the lonely nights laying awake in the dark and praying for an uneasy sleep.

 

We’ve endured the ridiculous comments (and worse) from those around us.

 

We’ve fought for financial benefits to which we were rightfully entitled; only to have doors slammed in our faces.

 

We have been betrayed (and worse) by those who were supposed to have our backs. 

 

We know.

 

And so, while today is admittedly a quiet day – it nonetheless calls for very loud action.  And I’m really good at being really loud.

 

Please….PLEASE…if or when that day comes that you feel that you just can’t go another step on your own journey…REACH OUT!  Reach out to another widow/er – it doesn’t matter who they are; just the fact that they are widowed will bring you comfort in the immediate and love and friendship for the long haul.  REACH OUT to any one or ALL of the wonderful organizations that you know are out there.  That’s why we’re here…to help YOU.  We WANT to help.  We WANT to get you through the pain to a place of peace.  That is our entire purpose for existing.  Support.  Comfort.  Community.  Strength.  And if we can’t help you, we’ll get you to someone who can…immediately and absolutely FREE of charge. 

 

And remember…it is not a sign of strength to try and go through this alone – nor is it a sign of weakness to say, “I need help”.

She was one of us.

 

As a sadly-large community of the widowed, let us all declare that her death will not be in vain.  Let us recommit every day to helping one another recover – and when we are able, reaching out to others who are in pain.

 

She was one of us.

 

She was not the first.

 

But please…Dear Lord…let her be the last.

 

And may she rest in peace.

 

Written in honor and memory of Nichole Haycock.

 

 

About Carole Brody Fleet

Carole Brody Fleet is the award-winning author of the critically-acclaimed, “Widows Wear Stilettos: A Practical and Emotional Guide for the Young Widow”  (New Horizon Press) and “I’m ‘Heeling’ One Day at a Time: The ULTIMATE, One-and-Only Question, Answer and Reference Guide to Life After Widowhood” (due in 2011); as well as the author and executive producer of the best-selling CD entitled, “Widows Wear Stilettos: What Now?”.   To learn more about Widows Wear Stilettos; including the newly formed “First Month” Foundation as well as Widows Wear Stilettos’ nationwide in-person support groups, visit www.widowswearstilettos.com.