Brittany Rebecca Helton

“…there is no more ridiculous custom than the one that makes you express sympathy once and for all on a given day to a person whose sorrow will endure as long as his life. Such grief, felt in such a way, is always “present”, it is never too late to talk about it, never repetitious to mention it again.”

– Marcel Proust

‘Yes, I may cry when you speak of it, but I’m still glad for your support.’

‘I will try to be fully present to this day – this day which is precious in itself and different from any other day I have had or will have.’

“It isn’t for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.”

– Anne Morrow Lindbergh

‘Give me courage for the long haul, and courage for each day’s journey.’

‘Grief is like a refiner’s fire. It will leave with something beautiful.’

‘I am grateful from the core of my being for the life I have shared with my loved one.’

“Nothing could stop you. Not the best day. Not the quiet. Not the ocean rocking. You went on with your dying.”

– Mark Strand

‘Death is a mystery in which the living are bystanders, but a mystery to be trusted.’

‘I will hold before myself the promise of a renewed and joyful life.’

‘I will not try to shortchange the process of grieving. I will take one day at a time.’

‘We found that our circle of friends shifted…We were surprised and disappointed that people we thought were good friends became distant, uneasy, and seemed unable to help us. Others who were casual acquaintances became suddenly close, sustainers of life for us. Grief changes the rules, and sometimes rearranged the combinations.”

 – Martha Whitmore Hickman

‘On my life journey I will have many companions. I am grateful for my friends – old and new – and for the ways in which our stories draw us close.’

‘May I not clutch my grief so tightly to myself that I cannot receive help when it is offered.’