It’s bound to happen. After the death of a loved one, life goes on. Life cycle events and milestones continue to happen; children graduate, go to college, marry, have children, and continue to grow. Life doesn’t stop with the death of a loved one.



So, how do we handle those sweet and happy moments, knowing quite well that someone is missing?



Some families have rituals. I know our family did. When my father died, he left four children, ages eleven to twenty. He…

I learned to be comfortable with the bereaved because at a young age, I was the bereaved. I witnessed firsthand how young friends, their parents, my neighbors, teachers, school officials, relatives, and family friends treated me and interacted with me upon learning that my father died.

And yet it was my mom who taught me how to comfort the bereaved. She connected by phone, cooked a meal, visited the bereaved, and continued to help long past when others ceased to…