Grief's Corner

Anytime I search for the word "Grief" on my X (formerly Twitter) timeline, the posts that come up are usually about how grief hits you out of nowhere even after years have passed, how to deal with grief or some other variation of what it is and how different people are living their lives regardless of the pain.

My first true encounter with loss was in October of 2016 when I received The News, and honestly, I do not believe I've really been okay since then. There has definitely been growth and so many changes since then, but there are some quiet moments where grief "hits you out of nowhere" and yesterday, 9th August 2025, was one of those days.

I had to attend a funeral at church. Although I did not know the deceased quite well, I vaguely remember visiting his wife during one of my family's numerous visits to his house when I was much younger. Honestly, I did not make the connection till the tributes were read. Yesterday was the first time since November 2016 that I had attended a funeral in a Methodist church, where I arrived early enough to hear the tributes being read, to see the family and sympathizers file past the body and finally the covering of the casket. I do not know where the tears came from, but one minute I was a church member watching a grieving family and the next minute, I was a sixteen-year-old watching the same events unfold at her father's funeral.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to handling grief or coming to terms with it because you are reminded of it at the most random moments. For me, it's on days like Father's Day and birthdays because my sisters and I would make cards out of A4 sheets that he kept at home, and we would present them to him. It was a fun little thing we did.

A screenshot of a chat between my sister and me

People say time heals all wounds, and honestly, it does sometimes, but I think it might be a little different when it comes to grieving the loss of a parent. It's not a dress or habit you can grow out of or a memory that you can conveniently forget. It's something that sticks with you.

This is one of the hardest pieces I've ever written, and I truly hope and pray for comfort for anyone who grieves, regardless of the kind of loss you've endured.

With all my love,

AskTheArthur.