Last-Minute Holiday Reminders

The holidays are here whether we're ready or not. Before you dive into (or hide from) all the festivities, we’re cutting to the chase with some quick reminders:

You Get to Choose Your People
● Text that friend who gets it
● Call the person who lets you not be okay
● Sit with someone who doesn't need you to pretend
● Find your grief people - they're out there– like right here at Grieve Leave
● Sometimes being alone is exactly what you need
● Sometimes it's the last thing you need 

You Get to Choose Your Space
● Step outside when the indoor voices get too loud
● Go to another room if you need a breather
● Drive around looking at lights when you need movement

 You Get to Choose Your Pace
● Stay at the gathering for 10 minutes or 2 hours
● Show up late
● Leave early
● Skip it entirely
● Change your mind halfway through

You Get to Choose Your Boundaries
● "No" is a complete sentence
● "I need to step out" doesn't need explaining
● "I'm not up for this" is perfectly valid
● "Maybe next time" works too

What you don't have to do:
● Feel guilty when you feel authentic joy – you get to have fun too
● Pretend you're fine
● Make everyone else comfortable
● Follow all the traditions to a T
● Meet everyone’s expectations
● Make sense to anyone else

We hate that grief doesn't take holidays off, but it’s true. If anything, these next few days might feel even griefier (or maybe they won’t!)

This day will end, and your grief can look and feel completely different tomorrow. Or even like in an hour. Most importantly, you're not alone. Ever.