Grief

I'm sorry for the silence.

Twenty-eight days ago, my partner and I split up. This is essentially a divorce, given the fact that we have lived together for over nine years, our bank and credit card accounts are all joint, she's on my health insurance plan, and we're registered as domestic partners.

That said... I've hesitated to write about this on this blog. Partly, it is honestly out of a resistance to sharing more of my grief in this space. This blog was developed to explore my personal and professional experiences with death and dying. And while, yes, that includes grief, this past year has provided me with more than my share of grief. First my grandmother died a year ago this past week; my aunt died shortly thereafter; then my grandmother's cat died recently and now I'm in the midst of a divorce.

Surprisingly, I am still standing tall despite the abundance of loss in my life.

But I feared weighing this blog down with yet more tales of my personal losses.

I have been rather anxious to refocus this space on my academic growth pertaining to the end-of-life process. But alas, life has other plans in store for me. :-)

Meanwhile, since I'm on the subject of grief, I thought I would share a link my dear friend Jenny emailed to me. This is for a Grief Retreat in Las Alpujarras, Andalucia, Spain. I will be taking a course on grief starting in April - it will be my final elective as I finish up my Master's degree. Though I have to say - a retreat in Spain carries a little more appeal than the lecture-based class I'll be attending in the States. ;-) But in case any of you are interested...