Posted by Dinah on October 30, 2004, at 14:13:32
In reply to he's gone and i'm devastated, posted by crushedout on October 29, 2004, at 14:43:29
I know how you feel. A big cyberhug and a shoulder to cry on if you need it.
There were a few things that helped me with Harry.
First of all, I allowed myself time to do nothing but grieve. I happened to have an appointment with my therapist that day and insisted that I didn't want to do anything but feel really sad at that time, regardless of other stuff going on in my life.
I talked about Harry to anyone who would listen, telling all the Harry stories I could think of. Then I went through all my old photos for ones that might have Harry in it, and scanned them into the computer so that I have a Harry (and other dogs) slideshow for my screensaver.
In other words, I did everything I could to memorialize him and to do the things you would do for a human. I allowed myself to focus completely on his life and my loss.
And then life stepped in and my world is in chaos, and it's hard to constantly think about the loss. I have to be honest about that. I'm so busy trying to fulfill my obligations and keep some sort of structural integrity for myself. But my arms feel so empty. I avoided the house for a while, because he was just always *there*. I miss his head on my arm as I type.
So, would you like to tell me a few stories about your cat? I'd love to listen.
poster:Dinah
thread:408358
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/grief/20040811/msgs/409242.html