WHY GRIEF ISN'T LINEAR

If you have ever had anyone that you loved or even liked die, you have experienced grief. There is this idea that grief has five stages in it; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. The thing that doesn't get talked about is that there is no order and you can bounce around and experience a stage more than once or skip one all together. There is a saying that time heals all wounds. I do believe that time does help but that doesn't mean you can't experience grief a month, a year, five years, or 10 years after the fact.

I'm 22 years old, I have had three dogs, two guinea pigs, a hamster, and a bunny pass away. I have also experienced the loss of all three of my grandparents (Unfortunately, I did not get to meet my grandpa Don). I was with my grandpa Dan in the final stages of his life and I was present when our dog Reva took her last breath.

It's all connected. When I was with my dog, it also brought me back to the death of my grandparents. Since, some of my cousins have had children, they will never get to meet their great-grandparents, I wish that my grandparents could see the newest generations grow.

Something triggers my grief and I have to re-recognize their absence from my life. Or a life event or milestone happens that I have to acknowledge that they are no longer here for.

If you don't know what I'm talking about check out this video, which is funny but it's also sort of accurate.

Grief sucks, but without it you don't get to experience the love. And the love, my friends, is worth all the heartache. So love fiercely, be kind, and be brave.