We’re in a period of national mourning following the death of HM The Queen yesterday. Such sad news. Sophie said yesterday evening that it felt strange that we now have a King as having a Queen is all she’s ever known and that’s true for so many of us.
It’s been quite a week. The end of the summer holidays, Sophie going back to school, Thomas starting school, Jessica’s birthday, a new Prime Minister and now a new monarch.
I’ve had my own periods of mourning this week. That usual end-of-summer sadness which is now mixed up with a hefty dose of grief. All the swirling emotions that come with Jessica’s birthday and the sadness of her not being here to celebrate it which were also mixed up in the emotions of Thomas starting school on the same day. I made a Twilight Sparkle unicorn cake for Jessica’s birthday while her siblings were at school, and we had a birthday picnic after school at her forever bed.
Significant days and significant events can be a big trigger with grief. Sophie has struggled with the news about The Queen’s death. It’s brought back a lot of the emotions around Jessica’s death, which were already closer to the surface this week with Jessica’s birthday. It’s so hard seeing her sadness and being able to do so little to help ease it.
Living with the loss of a loved one is so hard. My prayers are with our new King and the rest of the Royal Family as they mourn their mother and grandmother, and all those who are also mourning a loved one.
What I’ve been grateful for this week:
- Day 245 – I am grateful that Thomas enjoyed joining in with this morning’s craft session.
- Day 246 – I am grateful for the way this little boy likes to snuggle up to me when he’s falling asleep.
- Day 247 – I am grateful that we had the Nets Adventure course all to ourselves for the last 30 minutes of our session.
- Day 248 – I am grateful for all the fun we’ve had over the summer holidays. It went by far too quickly. We finished off our summer of fun with a pillow fight at bedtime. Tomorrow will be back to routines again. I shall miss Sophie and Thomas when they’re at school but I’m thankful for the time we’ve had together.
- Day 249 – I am grateful that Thomas enjoyed his first day at school.
- Day 250 – I am grateful for the giggles from Thomas at the pure joy of rolling a ball down the ‘slide’ on his toy garage.
- Day 251 – I am grateful that Thomas had fun trying out the baby ballet and tap class.
Other things that have made me smile this week:
- Sophie and Thomas getting their 10 session prizes at the last Discover The Outdoors session.
- The visiting preacher at our Sunday service bringing air-drying clay for the children to model with during the service (to fit in with her talk about God being the Potter). Sophie had so much fun with it.
- Trips to the park with Thomas while Sophie was at her dance lessons.
It’s a very sad time indeed. I’ve just been watching the 96 gun salute on television. National mourning does stir up your own personal feelings of grief. I know it’s been a difficult week for you, sending you love x
Thanks Anne. It has certainly been quite a week x
Louise,
Events have been moving at quite a pace recently, and even more so this week. Sophie isn’t the only one who finds it strange that we are now in the reign of King Charles III — I can’t remember a time before Queen Elizabeth II. Hopefully getting back to all the routines of term-time will help settle the various emotions that you are bound to feel during these difficult days.
The pillow-fight looks like a lot of fun! And Thomas looks very much the part in his school uniform on the first day of Reception. His teacher may be taken aback at how much he already knows!
Thank you. It has helped to settle back into routines again. It does feel very strange to be referring to King Charles III now.
Hopefully, the new season will bring routines that will take your minds off grieving. Sending hugs at this time.
Thank you. It has helped to settle back into routines again.
It really is a strange time. I can’t get my head around that we have a King, it doesn’t feel normal yet.
It has been an emotional week for you. Sending love and hugs. x
Thank you Kim. It’s certainly going to take some getting used to, isn’t it?
Glad the children had such a lovely summer and I hope back to school goes well. happy Birthday to Jessica, a lovely cake and a great idea to have a picnic tea. It must be difficult for you with everything going on this week, big hugs to you all x
Thank you, it has been a tough few days x
Glad that Thomas’ first day went well. Glad you all got to spend time with Jessica on her birthday. I’ve found it surprisingly upsetting about the Queen.
Thank you. It was a bit of a shock about the Queen wasn’t it?
I understand perfectly your feelings of mourning. I too was profoundly affected by her death and I too remembered my own loss with vivid memories. As someone who lived in UK for a bit over a decade and a royalist, I knew I will be upset, but I had no idea it will be so hard and that it will trigger sad memories.
Sending you virtual hugs. xx
Thank you. I do think moments of national mourning bring to mind our own losses. Sorry that it also triggered sad memories for you.
Thomas looks so grown up in his uniform! It has been such a strange time, a mixture of personal and national grief but a privilege to watch history unfold. #project365
Yes, there’s been very much a sense of watching history unfold over recent weeks. I still can’t quite get used to talking about ‘the King’.
Thomas looks so smart in his school uniform. It has been a very strange week, I have felt very emotional, which wasn’t helped by the music they insisted on playing at work. Jessica’s cake is brilliant
It was quite emotional – I can imagine the type of music being played at work didn’t help.