12/08/2026
In the first years of grief, I often think of climbing a mountain.
The higher you climb, the harder the wind seems to blow.
At first, simply getting out of bed can feel like a climb. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, songs, photographs, and unexpected memories become sudden gusts of wind that can knock you down without warning.
And just when you think you're getting stronger, grief can convince you otherwise. You climb a little higher, begin to find your footing, and suddenly the wind blows harder. You wonder how you can possibly keep going when every step forward seems to reveal another layer of the loss.
But somewhere along the way, something begins to change.
The mountain doesn't necessarily become smaller, and we never stop carrying the love and loss that brought us here.
We become stronger climbers.
We learn where to place our feet. We learn when to rest. We learn that being knocked down doesn't mean we've gone backward. And eventually, we discover that even the strongest winds cannot erase how far we've already climbed.
There will still be storms. There will always be days when grief finds the most tender places in our hearts. But there will also be days when the wind becomes a gentle breeze, and we suddenly realize we're breathing a little easier.
One day, we may even look back down that mountain and wonder how we survived those first impossible years.
But we did.
Not because we stopped missing them.
Not because we learned how to live without loving them.
But because, somehow, little by little, we learned how to carry their love with us instead of carrying only the pain of losing them.
So, to the grieving parent standing at the bottom of that mountain—or somewhere along its steepest climb—please hold on to hope.
You can deeply miss the life you had and still find beauty in the life that remains. Finding moments of happiness again does not mean you love or miss them any less. It simply means you are learning how to live while carrying them with you.
So keep climbing.
Rest when you need to. Hold tightly to the love that still connects you. And when the wind blows hardest, remember how far you've already come.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of this mountain is knowing that we aren't climbing away from those we love.
We are simply climbing through this life, one difficult step and one beautiful moment at a time, until the day our journey here is complete.
And somewhere beyond what our eyes can see, someone we love is waiting. ❤️
~becky fuqua-spuhl
Rebecca Fuqua