Speaker 1: Welcome to this episode of grief. Let's make sense of
Speaker 1: this shit. I am Dylan, and it means a lot
Speaker 1: that you chose to spend some time here today. Many
Speaker 1: people find themselves noticing certain dates on the calendar right now,
Speaker 1: and those moments can feel heavier than usual. This show
Speaker 1: stays focused on grief support in a way that leaves
Speaker 1: room for you to listen at your own pace, without
Speaker 1: any expectation to do more than that. We will keep
Speaker 1: a calm and steady rhythm through the conversation so nothing
Speaker 1: feels rushed. Anniversaries often surface first because they mark the
Speaker 1: exact day something changed. Birthdays follow close behind, since they
Speaker 1: remind us of the person who is no longer here
Speaker 1: to celebrate. Firsts carry their own weight, too, because they
Speaker 1: highlight every new experience the person missed. These dates arrive
Speaker 1: whether we feel ready or not, and each one can
Speaker 1: bring a different mix of memories. Meanwhile, the calendar keeps turning.
Speaker 1: In some years, the weight land harder than others. For example,
Speaker 1: a wedding anniversary might stir quiet reflection, while a birthday
Speaker 1: can bring both laughter and tears in the same afternoon.
Speaker 1: The reality is that these markers do not follow any
Speaker 1: single pattern. Instead, they show up in whatever way feels
Speaker 1: true for you at that moment. However, we do not
Speaker 1: need to label every feeling or compare one date to another.
Speaker 1: The thing is that simply naming what is happening can
Speaker 1: ease some of the pressure. In other words, recognizing that anniversaries, birthdays,
Speaker 1: and firsts stir grief gives us permission to meet the
Speaker 1: day as it arrives. That said, many listeners notice how
Speaker 1: these dates overlap with ordinary life events, and the mix
Speaker 1: can feel confusing. Plus, the body sometimes reacts before the
Speaker 1: mind catches up. Ultimately, the goal remains the same. We
Speaker 1: look at these dates together, so they lose a little
Speaker 1: of their power to catch us off guard. These days
Speaker 1: act as markers that pull attention back to the loss
Speaker 1: because they line up with the calendar in an unavoidable way.
Speaker 1: Anniversaries mark the day everything shifted. Birthdays carry the weight
Speaker 1: of someone no longer here to celebrate them. First. Cover
Speaker 1: those early experiences like holidays or seasons that arrive without
Speaker 1: the person who used to share them. Each one functions
Speaker 1: as a grief trigger, since the mind registers the absence
Speaker 1: on that specific day. The first Thanksgiving without a parent
Speaker 1: often brings the empty chair into sharp focus, even when
Speaker 1: the rest of this point looks the same. A deceased
Speaker 1: child's birthday can stir the same mix of memory and ache,
Speaker 1: whether the child would have turned five or twenty five.
Speaker 1: These moments arrive on schedule every year. Marty Horowitz and
Speaker 1: Stress response Syndromes from nineteen seventy six described how such
Speaker 1: reminders activate the same stress patterns that appeared right after
Speaker 1: the loss. Body and mind do not always follow a
Speaker 1: calendar of their own making. Instead, the date itself carries
Speaker 1: the reminder forward. Waves of emotion can return months or
Speaker 1: years later because the trigger remains tied to that point
Speaker 1: on the clock, rather than to any measure of progress. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: ordinary life continues around these dates. Work deadlines still exist,
Speaker 1: family plans still form. The overlap between the remembered day
Speaker 1: and the current routine can leave feelings that feel both
Speaker 1: expected and surprising at once. Although the intensity may differ
Speaker 1: from one year to the next, the presence of the
Speaker 1: date itself stays consistent. Since the loss happened, the calendar
Speaker 1: has kept turning without pause. Yet certain days refuse to
Speaker 1: blend into the background. A wedding anniversary can land with
Speaker 1: the same quiet weight on the tenth year as it
Speaker 1: did on the first. The first holiday meal prepared alone
Speaker 1: can echoes through later gatherings even when new traditions have
Speaker 1: taken shape. These patterns show up across many kinds of
Speaker 1: loss because the dates themselves hold the connection to what changed.
Speaker 1: The reality is that grief does not require the first
Speaker 1: occurrence to stay fresh. Later repetitions of the same date
Speaker 1: can still bring the same questions about how to move
Speaker 1: through the hours. Some people notice the approach weeks ahead,
Speaker 1: while others feel the shift only on the morning itself.
Speaker 1: Either way, the date stands as a point where emotion
Speaker 1: can rise without warning. For me, the clearest example arrived
Speaker 1: on a late summer afternoon two years after my father died.
Speaker 1: I remember the first birthday after my dad died. It
Speaker 1: landed in early summer, just five months later, and the
Speaker 1: morning started like any other until it did not. I
Speaker 1: woke up with a heaviness in my chest that felt
Speaker 1: like someone had placed a stack of books there. Overnight,
Speaker 1: breathing came in shorter pulls, and my shoulders stayed tight
Speaker 1: even after I stood up and moved around the kitchen.
Speaker 1: The house was quiet, in a way that made every
Speaker 1: small sound stand out. I poured coffee and noticed my
Speaker 1: hands shook a little when I lifted the mug. That
Speaker 1: physical reaction surprised me because nothing had happened yet to
Speaker 1: set it off. Emotionally, the day carried a flat emptiness
Speaker 1: mixed with sharp edges of missing him. One moment I
Speaker 1: felt nothing at all, and the next a wave of
Speaker 1: anger rose because he was not there to call and
Speaker 1: hear his usual joke about getting older. I tried to
Speaker 1: keep the day ordinary by running a few errands. At
Speaker 1: the grocery store, the bakery case held a row of
Speaker 1: cakes with simple frosting. One looked close to the kind
Speaker 1: he always picked out for family birthdays. That sight stopped
Speaker 1: me in the aisle. My throat tightened, and I had
Speaker 1: to step back against the shelves for a second. The
Speaker 1: unexpected trigger was not the date itself, or even a
Speaker 1: memory of past parties. Instead, it was the plain fact
Speaker 1: of those cakes sitting there. Like nothing had changed since
Speaker 1: the loss. The calendar had kept turning, but that particular morning,
Speaker 1: the body registered the absence in ways the mind had
Speaker 1: not prepared for. I left the store without buying much
Speaker 1: and drove home with the windows down. Fresh air helped
Speaker 1: a bit, yet the tightness in my chest stayed. Later
Speaker 1: in the afternoon, a neighbor stopped by with a small
Speaker 1: plant as a gift. The gesture was kind, and still
Speaker 1: the moment felt off because my dad would have been
Speaker 1: the one to notice the plant and ask about it.
Speaker 1: Grief showed up that day through these layered sensations rather
Speaker 1: than one single feeling. The physical part came first, with
Speaker 1: the pressure and the shallow breaths. The emotional part followed
Speaker 1: in waves that rose and fell without warning. Because birthdays
Speaker 1: mark a clear point on the calendar, they pull attention
Speaker 1: back to who is missing, even when life around the
Speaker 1: date looks normal. Meanwhile, while ordinary routines continued, and that
Speaker 1: overlap made the stirrings feel more confusing than dramatic. The
Speaker 1: reality is these firsts often highlight how the absence settles
Speaker 1: into the body before the thoughts catch up. I spent
Speaker 1: the evening sitting outside, watching the light change and notice
Speaker 1: the anger had softened into something quieter. Still, the day
Speaker 1: did not resolve into any kind of peace. It simply ended,
Speaker 1: and the next morning arrived with its own mix of
Speaker 1: ordinary tasks and lingering reminders. Here is the thing about
Speaker 1: such dates. They return each year, and the body learns
Speaker 1: to register them even when the mind tries to move
Speaker 1: past them. Although the intensity can shift from one year
Speaker 1: to the next, the pattern of resurfacing stays consistent because
Speaker 1: the calendar does not pause. In fact, the first birthday
Speaker 1: or holiday often sets a kind of template for how
Speaker 1: later ones might land. While some years bring stronger reactions,
Speaker 1: others pass with only a brief catch in the breath. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: life keeps adding new layers on top of these markers.
Speaker 1: A new job, or a move, or even a simple
Speaker 1: change in routine can sit beside the old absence and
Speaker 1: create a blend that feels hard to sort through. Since
Speaker 1: the loss happened, the mind keeps track of these alignments
Speaker 1: without much effort. The result is that grief can surface
Speaker 1: through small details, like a cake in a storecase, rather
Speaker 1: than through big, obvious reminders. That pattern of resurfacing on
Speaker 1: dates connects to what many people notice over time. The
Speaker 1: feelings do not follow a straight line, because each anniversary
Speaker 1: carries its own context. One year, the physical sensations might dominate,
Speaker 1: while another year the emotional side shows up more clearly.
Speaker 1: Because the triggers can arrive from unexpected places. The day
Speaker 1: often requires a kind of quiet attention rather than a
Speaker 1: plan to push through. Ultimately, these first teach us that
Speaker 1: the calendar itself becomes part of the experience. The dates
Speaker 1: line up, and the absence registers again, whether we want
Speaker 1: it to or not. Meanwhile, the ordinary world continues around them,
Speaker 1: and that mix can leave us feeling pulled in two
Speaker 1: directions at once. The story of that first birthday stayed
Speaker 1: with me because it showed how the body and the
Speaker 1: emotions work together on these markers. We'll take a short
Speaker 1: break now and return shortly. The reality is these firsts
Speaker 1: often hit through the body first. A certain date arrives,
Speaker 1: and the mind connects it straight to the absence because
Speaker 1: the calendar itself has become tied to that memory. The
Speaker 1: brain forms these links quickly. When loss occurs, it notes
Speaker 1: the surroundings, the sounds, and even the season as part
Speaker 1: of the event. Later, when the same date circles back,
Speaker 1: the connection activates again. That process explains why the poll
Speaker 1: feels automatic rather than chosen. A study published in the
Speaker 1: Journal of Clinical Psychology in two thousand one and fourteen
Speaker 1: showed how reminders aligned with calendar dates can recreate the
Speaker 1: original stress response patterns. The researchers observe this link across
Speaker 1: different types of loss, and noted that the reaction stays
Speaker 1: tied to the timing rather than fading on its own. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: another paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry from twenty
Speaker 1: eighteen described similar findings in people who experience sudden deaths.
Speaker 1: The dates continued to surface the same physical sensations, even
Speaker 1: when daily life had moved forward in other ways. Because
Speaker 1: of this, the first year carries extra weight. Every date
Speaker 1: arrives new and without any prior experience of moving through it.
Speaker 1: After the loss, the brain registers the absence as the
Speaker 1: only version it knows. Later years still carry the same dates,
Speaker 1: yet the mind has added layers from other moments that happened.
Speaker 1: Since those editions do not erase the original link, but
Speaker 1: they give the day more context. The raw quality often
Speaker 1: softens because the single association no longer stands alone. That
Speaker 1: change in intensity does not mean progress has stalled. When
Speaker 1: the feelings return strong on a later anniversary, the calendar
Speaker 1: simply continues to mark the same point each year. Reactions
Speaker 1: on those days show the connection remains active rather than
Speaker 1: any failure to move ahead. Many people notice the same
Speaker 1: pattern repeats across birthdays, holidays, and other markers. The response
Speaker 1: arrives because the date lines up with the memory, not
Speaker 1: because the grief itself has stayed frozen in place since
Speaker 1: the loss. The ordinary flow of weeks and months keeps
Speaker 1: going for everyone else. That contrast can make the marke
Speaker 1: days feel sharper at first. Over time, the contrast stays,
Speaker 1: yet the sharpness changes as new experiences fill in around
Speaker 1: the old ones. The link between date and memory does
Speaker 1: not disappear, yet it shares space with more recent ones.
Speaker 1: This sharing allows room for both the original feeling and
Speaker 1: whatever else belongs to the present. Listeners often describe how
Speaker 1: later anniversaries bring a mix rather than one on pure emotion.
Speaker 1: The sadness arrives alongside whatever else the day holds, such
Speaker 1: as work obligations or family plans. The brain manages several
Speaker 1: connections at once, even when one date stands out. That
Speaker 1: capacity shows the grief response can exist alongside other parts
Speaker 1: of life without taking over the entire day. The same
Speaker 1: pattern appears when community members share their own experiences with
Speaker 1: these dates. Their stories often echo the automatic link between
Speaker 1: the calendar and the memory of loss. Some mention how
Speaker 1: the first year felt like walking through a version of
Speaker 1: the day that no longer existed. Others note that later
Speaker 1: years brought the same date yet carried different weight because
Speaker 1: new routines had formed. These accounts illustrate the brain's tendency
Speaker 1: to connect timing with absence, while also showing that the
Speaker 1: connection does not lock anyone into a single state. If
Speaker 1: you have noticed similar patterns on your own anniversaries, birthdays,
Speaker 1: or firsts, we would like to hear from you. Send
Speaker 1: your reflections through the show website or the usual contact chairs.
Speaker 1: Your account may help someone else recognize the same calendar
Speaker 1: link in their own experience. We collect these stories for
Speaker 1: future episodes so others can listen and feel less alone
Speaker 1: with the way certain dates continue to surface. The process
Speaker 1: of these reminders stays tied to the simple fact that
Speaker 1: time keeps moving forward on the calendar. Each return of
Speaker 1: the date reactivates the memory because the brain stored it
Speaker 1: with that timing attached over repeated years. The activation still occurs,
Speaker 1: yet the surrounding life adds its own details. This addition
Speaker 1: allows the day to hold more than the original loss
Speaker 1: while still honoring the connection that remains. Community contributions often
Speaker 1: highlight how recognizing the link itself brings a measure of steadiness.
Speaker 1: Knowing the date will pull attention back to the absence,
Speaker 1: remove some of the surprise the feeling of because the
Speaker 1: brain has kept the association rather than because something has
Speaker 1: gone wrong. That understanding fits with the observations from the
Speaker 1: studies mentioned earlier, where timing itself acted as the trigger
Speaker 1: across different people and losses. As we close this part
Speaker 1: of the conversation, the space stays open for those stories.
Speaker 1: They add real examples to the idea that dates and
Speaker 1: memories stay linked while life continues around them. Your account
Speaker 1: of how a particular birthday or anniversary unfolded may line
Speaker 1: up with what others have felt. Sharing it helps build
Speaker 1: the collection of experiences that show these reactions belong to
Speaker 1: the way grief works with the calendar, rather than any
Speaker 1: sign of being stuck. We look forward to reading what
Speaker 1: you send and weaving some of those accounts into later
Speaker 1: parts of this series. The calendar will keep turning, and
Speaker 1: the dates will keep arriving. Each time they do, the
Speaker 1: same connection can appear, yet it arrives within what aver
Speaker 1: what ever else? The day now holds that balance reflects
Speaker 1: the ongoing nature of these reminders without requiring any single outcome.
Speaker 1: Many listeners have shared their experiences with these dates and
Speaker 1: how the feelings arrived. One person described their first wedding
Speaker 1: anniversary after the loss. The day began with routine tasks
Speaker 1: around the house, yet by mid afternoon, the quiet settled
Speaker 1: in and the memories of that original day returned without
Speaker 1: any clear trigger. They sat with the feeling for several
Speaker 1: hours and noticed how the body carried a heaviness that
Speaker 1: did not match the ordinary schedule. Another listener wrote about
Speaker 1: the first major holiday after their person died. The gathering
Speaker 1: happened as it always had, While the chair at this
Speaker 1: point stayed empty and conversations moved around the space in small,
Speaker 1: careful ways. They found themselves stepping outside for air more
Speaker 1: than once because the mix of familiar voices and that
Speaker 1: missing presence created a tention that lingered into the evening.
Speaker 1: A third account came from someone who marked a birthday
Speaker 1: that had always been shared. They kept the plans they
Speaker 1: made months earlier and went through the steps of the celebration,
Speaker 1: yet certain moments, like a particular song or the way
Speaker 1: the light came through the window pulled the absence forward
Speaker 1: in sudden, clear flashes. The day ended with a mix
Speaker 1: of gratitude for the people who showed up and an
Speaker 1: ache that felt separate from the rest of the gathering.
Speaker 1: These accounts often mentioned the sudden sadness that lands on
Speaker 1: a wedding anniversary or the awareness of an empty chair
Speaker 1: during holidays. The stories also note how ordinary activities continue
Speaker 1: around the date while the body registers the change in
Speaker 1: its own timing. Because the calendar keeps moving forward, the
Speaker 1: overlap with daily life can make the feelings arrive in
Speaker 1: layers rather than one single wave. Meanwhile, the listeners who
Speaker 1: wrote in described small adjustments they tried on later dates.
Speaker 1: Um chose to mark the day with a quiet walk
Speaker 1: or a favorite meal instead of a larger event. Others
Speaker 1: set aside time beforehand to look at photos or listen
Speaker 1: to music that connected them to the person. These choices
Speaker 1: came from noticing what the body needed on that specific morning,
Speaker 1: rather than following a fixed plan. Although the intensity varied
Speaker 1: from one year to the next, the common thread was
Speaker 1: paying attention to how the day actually felt instead of
Speaker 1: how it was supposed to feel. Since the first year
Speaker 1: carries extra weight, for many people, the later anniversaries sometimes
Speaker 1: bring a different texture. The reminders still appear, yet the
Speaker 1: duration or the way they settle changes because ordinary life
Speaker 1: has continued in the spaces between the dates. The study
Speaker 1: from the Journal of Clinical Psychology in two thousand and
Speaker 1: fourteen pointed to how calendar aligned reminders can recreate certain
Speaker 1: stress patterns, and these listener stories show that process in
Speaker 1: everyday terms. People have also mentioned reaching out to others
Speaker 1: who knew the person, or writing a short note that
Speaker 1: stayed private. These steps did not remove the feelings, yet
Speaker 1: they gave the day a shape that felt manageable. The
Speaker 1: reality is each story stands on its own and the
Speaker 1: details differ because every loss sits inside its own set
Speaker 1: of circumstances. What stands out across the messages is the
Speaker 1: way the absence shows up through the body first and
Speaker 1: then moves into thoughts or memories. One listener described the
Speaker 1: heaviness returning on the exact date, even when the surrounding
Speaker 1: weeks felt steadier. Another noted that the empty chair at
Speaker 1: holidays created a silence that conversations could not quite fill.
Speaker 1: These observations line up with the earlier point about stress
Speaker 1: response patterns. Described by Marty Horowitz in nineteen seventy six,
Speaker 1: where reminders activate familiar sensations from right after the loss.
Speaker 1: Because the dates keep returning, the question for many becomes
Speaker 1: what to carry forward rather than how to avoid the feeling.
Speaker 1: Listeners have tried keeping a simple ritual like lighting a
Speaker 1: candle or spending part of the day in a place
Speaker 1: that holds good memories. Others found that telling one trusted
Speaker 1: person about the date ahead of time created a small
Speaker 1: pocket of understanding when the day arrived. The approach varies
Speaker 1: because the loss itself varies. Yet the thread that runs
Speaker 1: through the accounts is the decision to meet the day
Speaker 1: as it comes, instead of forcing it into a particular shape. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: the stories remind us that the calendar continues and the
Speaker 1: body keeps its own record of the dates. The common
Speaker 1: experiences of sudden sadness or the empty chair serve as
Speaker 1: markers that many recognize without needing further explanation. As we
Speaker 1: move into the next part of our conversation, we can
Speaker 1: look at steps that have helped people stay present on
Speaker 1: these days while still honoring what the body and the
Speaker 1: heart are carrying. Some days, the weight shows up before
Speaker 1: the sun does, and the idea of doing anything at
Speaker 1: all can fil too much. Because of that, a low
Speaker 1: pressure ritual can help mark the date without demanding more
Speaker 1: energy than you have. Lighting a single candle and letting
Speaker 1: it burn while you sit nearby works for many people.
Speaker 1: Since the small flame gives the day a quiet focal point,
Speaker 1: You can choose the time that fits your schedule and
Speaker 1: let the light go out on its own once the
Speaker 1: moment feels complete. Meanwhile, visiting a place that holds meaning
Speaker 1: offers another option, because the location itself carries the memory
Speaker 1: and you do not need to fill the time with
Speaker 1: words or plans. Planning, a small act of connection can
Speaker 1: fit around either choice. Since these dates often arrive amid
Speaker 1: ordinary life, you might reach out to one person who
Speaker 1: shares the loss, or you might decide on time alone
Speaker 1: with a favorite meal or a walk. The National Hospice
Speaker 1: and Palliative Care Organization Grief Resources note that simple gestures
Speaker 1: like these can anchor the day while still leaving room
Speaker 1: for whatever emotions arrive. Although the act stays small, it
Speaker 1: gives the calendar date a gentle structure that does not
Speaker 1: require performance. On the other hand, if the date itself
Speaker 1: carries too much weight, you can change the entire day instead.
Speaker 1: Because grief does not follow a fixed schedule, some people
Speaker 1: move the observance to a different weekend, or skip the
Speaker 1: original date altogether and do something ordinary, like see a
Speaker 1: movie or work in the garden. The same resources from
Speaker 1: the National Hospice and palliad of Care Organization Grief Resources
Speaker 1: encourage this flexibility, since forcing the day into a particular
Speaker 1: shape rarely matches how the body actually feels. While you
Speaker 1: decide what fits, you may notice that the choice itself
Speaker 1: changes from year to year. One anniversary might call for
Speaker 1: the candle in quiet time, while another might ask for
Speaker 1: company or a complete shift and routine. Because the body
Speaker 1: registers these markers before the mind catches up, the plan
Speaker 1: can stay loose and adjust as the hours unfold. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: ordinary responsibilities still exist, so the ritual or the change
Speaker 1: can sit alongside work or errands without needing to replace them.
Speaker 1: The reality is these practices stay practical because they leave
Speaker 1: space for the non linear nature of the feelings. Although
Speaker 1: one year the candle might bring comfort, the next year
Speaker 1: the same flame might feel unnecessary, and that shift does
Speaker 1: not signal failure since the calendar keeps turning regardless, the
Speaker 1: option to adapt the day protects the energy you need
Speaker 1: for everything else. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Speaker 1: Grief Resources continue to point out that honoring the date
Speaker 1: looks different for each person and each year. In fact,
Speaker 1: the freedom to choose or to change the plan can
Speaker 1: reduce the pressure that sometimes builds around these firsts and anniversaries. However,
Speaker 1: the choice lands, you can return to it or set
Speaker 1: it aside without judgment. Because the loss sits inside ordinary
Speaker 1: timectices that help most are the ones that fit inside
Speaker 1: that same ordinary time. Whatever you choose on the day,
Speaker 1: you deserve, patience with yourself will take a short break
Speaker 1: and continue in just a moment. Feeling knocked back on
Speaker 1: these dates is normal because the calendar lines up in
Speaker 1: a way that brings the absence forward again. You might
Speaker 1: since the same pull even after other months have passed
Speaker 1: without that same intensity. However, that return does not signal
Speaker 1: any failure on your part or any step backward in
Speaker 1: how things have unfolded since the loss. Speak to yourself
Speaker 1: the way you would speak to a friend who carries
Speaker 1: a similar weight. Offer the same patience you extend without
Speaker 1: question when someone else shares their own difficult mourning. While
Speaker 1: it can feel easier to hold understanding for others, the
Speaker 1: same tone can turn inward without any extra effort. Because
Speaker 1: these reminders arrive on their own schedule, giving yourself room
Speaker 1: matters more than pushing past the feeling right away. Skipping
Speaker 1: traditions does not require guilt, because what once felt necessary
Speaker 1: may now sit too heavily on the day itself. Feeling
Speaker 1: numb instead of connected can also arrive without any judgment
Speaker 1: attached to that response. Meanwhile, the choice to keep things
Speaker 1: ordinary or to step away entirely stays yours to make
Speaker 1: each time the date approaches. Although the calendar keeps turning,
Speaker 1: your response can shift without explanation or comparison to what
Speaker 1: others seem to do. Since the earlier practices like planning
Speaker 1: a small connection or changing the entire day already leave
Speaker 1: space for different needs, those same options can support this
Speaker 1: kindness toward yourself. The reality is these dates do not
Speaker 1: demand a certain performance or a particular level of feeling.
Speaker 1: You can notice what shows up and still choose what
Speaker 1: fits without adding pressure on top of everything else. As
Speaker 1: we close this part of the conversation, the main points
Speaker 1: stay simple. These reminders of patients sit ready for whenever
Speaker 1: the next date lands. These dates do not stay frozen
Speaker 1: in the same shape year after year because the calendar
Speaker 1: keeps turning. Many people notice the weight around them starts
Speaker 1: to shift. After the first few cycles, you learn which
Speaker 1: days need a small act of connection and which ones
Speaker 1: call for changing the whole plan instead. Although some anniversaries
Speaker 1: still land hard, the body and mind begin to carry
Speaker 1: the absence with a little more room to breathe. Since
Speaker 1: each choice leaves space for what actually fits, the dates
Speaker 1: often become more manageable even when the feelings return. The
Speaker 1: next episode will explore how grief appears inside ordinary routines
Speaker 1: that have nothing to do with a calendar mark. If
Speaker 1: this podcast helps you make sense of your grief, join
Speaker 1: our supporters club and help us keep these conversations going.
Speaker 1: You will find the link in the episode description. Whatever
Speaker 1: dates sit ahead for you, the same simple truth holds
Speaker 1: you get to meet them in the way that works
Speaker 1: this year, and that choice itself matters.