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Connor J McClelland's avatar

Wow. This is raw, insightful, and so well written. I'm feeling the same kinds of emotions after losing both my grandparents in the recent years. The holidays really don't feel the same and I think we all experience this and maybe there is some shared trauma bonding but it does not make it easier. Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to reading more of your work.

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Carolina's avatar

Thank you Connor 🫶🏻 it’s not the same, but I hope you still have a merry Christmas 🥰

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Sunnywave | Hawai‘i's avatar

This is beautiful and sharing in that grief is a wave that rearranges our hearts ❤️❤️‍🩹❤️ just surrounding you with love 🌺

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Carolina's avatar

Thank you so much 🫶🏻🌟 I wish you a very happy Christmas

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Anjana's avatar

Hi Carolina!

Just read your piece, and it's so beautifully written!

I personally relate to this piece so much, because I too have experienced (or am experiencing) a similar kind of grief - with the passing of my grandfather quite recently, in 2021 (8th August).

That year, just a few days later (on the 12th, I think), was Onam, and it's the biggest festival in Kerala (where I’m from). Since then, Onam in my family has never felt the same, and I don't expect it to either. Every year around that time, I think of him. But not only then - at every important family gathering, festival, or celebration, I feel his absence (an empty seat at the table, like you said). And that emptiness remains even today, and I often find myself wondering how these moments would have been if he were still here with us.

Reading your piece felt strangely comforting, because it echoed so closely what I’ve been feeling through my own experience.

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Carolina's avatar

I hope you have the courage to remember him and still carry on and eventually go back to enjoy Onam, even in a different way 🫶🏻

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Asterion's avatar

Just read this! My grandmother is very sick right now — so this was especially touching to read! Fantastic piece!

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Dec 29
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Carolina's avatar

Loss and the feeling of grief lasts a lifetime, and it should not be diminished. Just because someone isn’t here doesn’t mean they don’t exist 🫶🏻🌟 thank you for reading me 🫶🏻

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