New Journal Prompt: Anniversaries and Milestones After Loss
This month’s journal prompt will be about anniversaries and milestones after loss. This month, we will reflect on the anniversaries or milestones since your loved one’s passing.
I started writing and sharing my story and found it so healing. Journaling can be therapeutic, bring comfort and help us in the grieving process.
This year I will be sending 12 journal prompts to my email subscribers, one each month. I will be sharing my answers, and if you’re comfortable, I would love to read and share yours! Everything will be kept anonymous. This month we will be exploring our feelings of how our empathy after loss has changed. Often times once we have experienced loss, our empathy skills increase.
I am so excited for this project. I know as we journal together, we will find community, acceptance, and support. I want you to know your responses are, for lack of better word, sacred to me. Thank you sharing your story. We can do this, this big impossible thing, of healing. Life is a trip, join my caravan as we journal and heal together!
As we dive into this journal prompt, I hope we can find healing together as we explore life after loss. Sometimes we need to address the painful things in order to heal, and I want to remind you to get help with a professional grief therapist or confide in a friend as you go about this. You are not alone!
May Journal Prompt: Anniversaries and Milestones After Loss
Reflect on the upcoming anniversary or milestone since your loved one’s passing. What emotions arise as you anticipate this day.
My Answer: How Anniversaries and Milestones Effect Me
Spring always marks the beginning of anniversaries and milestones for me. I often find myself crying unexpectedly, with my body reacting before my mind can catch up. My body just knows. Milestones after loss can be difficult and heavy. The worst thing about milestones after loss is that there are so many different ways for the grief to hit. One year it can hurt one way, then the next a different way.
The birth of my twin boys was a traumatic and emotional experience. Not only was the birth itself incredibly difficult, but there were moments when I feared Justin wouldn’t live to meet our sons. Looking back at birthday photos is painful because he looked so sick. The following months bring our wedding anniversary, his birthday, and then his death anniversary.
These four months each year are particularly challenging, and I give myself grace during this time because my body needs care to get through it. I’ve found that establishing traditions on these anniversaries helps make the days easier. Next month I’ll share what traditions I’ve done around his birthday and death anniversary.
One of the things we did is create a shirt to honor Justin. You can buy a shirt here:
Life’s A Trip, Join My Caravan for Community and Support
Subscribe to my email to get monthly journal prompts like this one, and if you’d like to share how you’ve come to terms with life after loss, be sure to comment here or respond to my email. I know that as we caravan together in this grief journey we can help each other through. Navigating grief can be difficult alone, especially when it comes to anniversaries and milestones after loss. Join my caravan for support and let me know how I can help. Follow me on Instagram for more community and support.
Caravan Community Read their stories
Trials touch us all. A year ago, I shared my story to offer support, but I never expected the flood of messages from others facing hardships. Their strength inspired me to create Caravan Community, a space on my blog to share their stories. You have a story to share I’d love to feature you on my blog. You can also read their stories below. Life after loss doesn’t have to be lonely.
