Grief:

It sneaks;

It lurks;

It haunts;

It interferes;

It brings pain and blocks the memory of those we love.

It casts shadows over faces, voices, smells remembered.

It puts a wall between what was and what we think we know.

It’s like trying to spell a word that you know you know, but for some reason, it looks wrong on the page – it makes the familiar things unfamiliar and hazy.

Then, panic.

We've all been there.

We think we are forgetting that which we loved. We think we are scum because we don’t care enough; we think we are losing our minds and our tethers to what we used to be, to what we are.

We are broken, defeated, useless.

We feel alone.

But we are not.

So take heart.

These memories are not gone.

These faces and voices and smells are not forgotten.

They will resurface when you least expect it – a glimpse of a familiar face, a whiff of a certain smell bring all the love and joy rushing back in.

Take heart.

You have not forgotten.

Your heart is just saving those for when you need it most.