Grief Calendar 2020 Jan – Jun
2020 Jan-June Calendar
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So Much Loss During the Holidays: Managing Secondary Losses
by Julia Rajtar, BCC, M.A.P.S. My husband would hang the up the Christmas lights outside the house. Now the house is dark and so is my heart, since he died. My wife and kids used to spend time baking the cookies, making a mess and having...
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Three Good Things, An Attitude of Gratitude, Count Your Blessings
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC When we are grieving, it can feel like we are carrying the weight of the world in our bodies, experiencing the wave of all kinds of feelings, thoughts and behaviors as we move forward with our...
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Going Back to Work After a Death
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC After the death of her father, Mary said that she dreaded going back to work. “Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “My co-workers are supportive and really wonderful. I just don’t look forward to repeating myself...
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Grief Dreams
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC The dream began… I had a dream from my deceased five-year old daughter. She appeared to be floating near the ceiling of our bedroom. She was healthy with curly hair(she had died from cancer and was almost...
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Widowed Parenting: Caring for your Children and Caring for Yourself
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC Imagine, in your family of 4, going from two caregivers to one, becoming fully responsible for everything, having your life shattered, and your child’s life smashed, as one of their parent’s has died. ...
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Tasks of Mourning
by Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC A grief group participant was lamenting the death of her mother, nearly four years after her death. The participant said she is living with the grief, carries it with daily, and is able to blend that death into her...
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Grief Camps
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC Years ago, I attended a volleyball camp. I remember how much I wanted to attend, because I wanted to learn skills to become a better player, having learned all I could from others around me. I will...
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Be Kind to Me, My Mom Just Died
By Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC Sometimes I think I need to wear a t-shirt that says, Be Kind to me, my mom just died. It seems that as I walk around, unable to focus, my heart broken from sorrow and sadness, life all around me goes on as if...
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A Time of Hope – Spring and Easter
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC After a loved one dies, we seek consolation from the pain of their absence. One of the ways the bereaved find meaning out of the death is through the lens of faith. Many have said “my faith teaches me...
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To Share or Not to Share: Do parents express their grief with their younger children?
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC “I need to be tough for my kids. They don’t need to see me cry,” one parent said to me about their 3 and 7-year-old children. As we began exploring this statement, it became evident that the parent...
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