October is very special and very important month. It’s defined as the tenth month of the year, containing 31 days. In the northern hemisphere it’s usually considered the second month of autumn, and you know how much I love autumn!
The month of October marks the start of autumn season and harvest festivities in the Northern Hemisphere. I always thought of October as the month that many will celebrate Halloween. But I looked it up on the internet and found that there are actually National days in the month. I also learned that October is an optimal month to focus on your health — both mental and physical. And, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
October 4th is Cinnamon Roll Day, World Smile Day, Kids Music Day, World Animal Day, Plaidurday (fancy name for wearing plaid)… and much more! It’s also the birthdate of my youngest son who is away on deployment in the Navy. I celebrated his special day with a text message. I won’t say how old he is, because it will just remind me of how much older I am from that wonderful day he was born.
October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and the rest of the month contains several other awareness days like World Arthritis Day, World Allergy Awareness Day, and World Menopause Day. It’s also the birthdate of my late husband Michael. Mike would have been 71 years old this month. I celebrated his birthday by decorating his memorial stone with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
So, October is a mixed bag of celebrations and change of seasons and birthdays. Hence, why I titled this 10 Down (months) and 2 Good Reasons (birthdays). I did pretty good managing my emotions this month. I was sad about my son and a little worried because his ship is station in the middle east next to some warfare type conflict. I was sad about not having Mike here to celebrate his birthday. 71 years is a big deal and I would have loved to plan something really special to show him love and make him feel young again!!
There will be lots more Octobers for me (I hope) and I will have my moments to reflect on what the month means for me, but I am noticing that I’m getting much better with replacing the crying outburst and achy heart beats with thoughts of Mike that bring the biggest smiles to my face and happy feelings to my heart. I’m gradually healing and moving forward in my new normal world.
If you have any experiences from your grief journey that have caught your attention to maybe how much better you are handling your memories of your loved one would you share them here in this nonjudgmental safe, secure community space for healing? You never know who you might help or save or encourage or motivate to keep putting that one foot in front of the other.
Thanks for reading my October Post….God’s Blessings and Love, always!
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