The long winter months can be especially confining, isolating and challenging when grieving a loss. But you can also engage in unique ways that will help you bear your loss.

Here are some ideas for winter (or any time of year):

• start an indoor gardens/terrariums/terrarium memorial garden
• take up a new hobby/craft, learn new skills/enhance existing ones
• enroll in an online class (many are self-paced)
• write your autobiography or a biography about your loved one
• start a Blog (many free options with public/private settings)
• volunteer at church, care-facilities and non-profits
• plan and gather materials for spring projects
• give a room(s) in your home a new look makeover
• learn “scrapbooking” to create frames, albums, greeting/postcards, etc.
• write letters & post cards the old fashioned way to connect/reconnect
• hobby photography (create beautiful photo gifts)
• chart your genealogy using online resources
• plan some trips that give you something to look forward to
• collect, taste-test and self-publish a family recipe book
• sort through your “stuff” and sell on eBay
• join a weekly grief support group (hospice, hospital, church, community)
• join a social group that attends local events together

You can find things that will truly help you to better cope with the absence of a loved one, and can help you to regain more control of your days, rather than letting your days control you.  –John Pete