Still Connected, Still Present
/ Photogrief : Eleanor Haley
This essay is a part of WYG's PhotoGrief project. The goal of the PhotoGrief project is to create a space where people can explore and express their grief through pictures. Learn more about the project here.
It was the second anniversary of mom’s death. An anniversary I dreaded, as I wasn’t sure how I would handle it.
The first year I just “powered through it.” That was a disaster.
This year, the second year, I decided to go on a scuba dive. Some of mom’s ashes are in the water and I wanted to connect with her again.
Mom loved fishes and would spend hours staring at her aquariums watching the fish.
On the ascent to the surface I was doing the required safety stop. Literally, out of the blue, a school of Moorish Idol fish came and surrounded me.
They turned around and did the same thing a second time before they swam away.
My first thought, with tears in my eyes, was “thank you mom” for being on the dive with me.
And my second thought was that of course mom would send me a warm hug and what better way through the fishes she loved so much.
And she had them surround me twice just to make sure I got it! I snapped a quick photo to always remember. But honestly, I’ll never need a photo to remember this.
Still connected… still present.
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After writing online articles for What’s Your Grief
for over a decade, we finally wrote a tangible,
real-life book!
What’s Your Grief? Lists to Help you Through Any Loss is for people experiencing any type of loss. This book discusses some of the most common grief experiences and breaks down psychological concepts to help you understand your thoughts and emotions. It also shares useful coping tools, and helps the reader reflect on their unique relationship with grief and loss.
You can find What’s Your Grief? Lists to Help you Through Any Loss wherever you buy books:
