Greiving Good
My Mama's favorite cartoon was always Peanuts. Having watched many episodes every holiday season since I was a kid and especially now with my own kids, Charlie Brown's famous catchphrase is one that recently made me reconsider it's significance. "Good grief," was always CB's (Charlie Brown and oddly enough my Mama's initials as well) lament when things weren't going quite right but for me, the phrase means something just a bit different. When I saw these two words together at first I thought it was an oxymoron. How could any kind of grief be good? Grief in and of itself is a process that is usually difficult for everyone who has to go through it. Maybe grief can be good once you have accepted reality in all it's unfair and untimely glory. Maybe grief can be good when you realize it was all a gift, one that you didn't have to have but are thankful you did. For me I knew it was good when I was able to speak of her without crying profusel...