Baby Steps

Have you ever experienced loss?

Maybe it was your first beloved goldfish

Or your last basketball game of the season

Maybe it was your grandmother, she was 95 after all

Loss is a part of living

We lose teeth, boyfriends

We lose games, homework, even our minds at times

Let’s be honest, no matter the loss, it downright sucks.

Most losses we never even see coming. You’re never ready to lose

At age 22, I was never ready to lose my mom. Not even close.

But then again, if I was 60 years old I would still be saying the same thing

Losing what you love hurts across the spectrum

Some impact your life more than others, but they hurt all the same, if even for a moment

How do you move forward after a loss?

Well the good news is, your teeth do grow back, so there’s that

And you will find a new boyfriend who you love more than the last

There will be plenty of games to win, so do not fret

Losing people is when it gets tricky;

Your life will be turned upside down, for a long time probably

Days will overflow and sometimes you may beg them to stop all together

You’ll lose your appetite while at the same time wanting to eat all the feelings you’ve acquired

You will fake laugh and eventually cry your eyes out to the brink of dehydration

But you WILL move forward

You will because those people you lost would want you to

And if that’s not a good enough reason, maybe it’s because you have a family that depends on you

Or just a dog, even

Maybe it’s your job

You have to move forward after loss because you just have to and that’s that

Losing hurts and it always will

But look down at your feet, and move them

Slowly at first

Eventually picking up the pace

Find something that pushes you into orbit again

You will be sad, yes,

But you are alive and life is meant to be lived while we have it

Through losses, through wins, life does begin again