Compassion, Spring 2021

Spring 2021 - Compassion | www.tcf.org.uk 15 And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln Three Years On The fierce, seemingly unbearable agony of loss, has been replaced by a constant, numbing pain lying just beneath the surface, ready to break forth at the most unexpected moments. But alongside this pain, happier moments can and do happen - time spent with family and friends, enjoying simple pleasures. And there can be moments, also, of real joy - a child’s smile, the sun popping out on a frosty winter morning, or a cup of creamy hot chocolate after a brisk walk. And within the pain are wrapped countless memories, both happy and sad. They are there to be opened when we so wish and accompany us along life’s path, with its many twists and turns. These memories remain with us to the end. Jeanette Greaves I always have to take a little extra care of myself, but I know that I am now at the other side and I know it can be done. It’s not a quick fix thing. It’s definitely a long-haul kind of thing but along the way you learn so much about yourself, about grief, about love and about caring, that I can honestly say, looking back over the last eight years, I think that I had to go through it and what I have learned, I feel will be something I value for the rest of my life. Rosi Rees