#grief

Queen of my tub, I merrily sing, While the white foam rises high, And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring, And fasten the clothes to dry; Then out in the free fresh air they swing, Under the sunny sky. I wish we could wash from our hearts and our souls The stains of the week away, And let water and air by their magic make Ourselves as pure as they; Then on the earth there would be indeed A glorious washing-day! Along the path of a useful life Will heart's-ease ever bloom; The busy mind has no time to think Of sorrow, or care, or gloom; And anxious thoughts may be swept away As we busily wield a broom. I am glad a task to me is given To labor at day by day; For it brings me health, and strength, and hope, And I cheerfully learn to say- "Head, you may think; Heart, you may feel; But Hand, you shall work always! ↗

— Louisa May Alcott

#purity #business

Gogol remembers having to do the same thing when he was younger, when his grandparents died...He remembers, back then, being bored by it, annoyed at having to observe a ritual no one else he knew followed, in honor of people he had seen only a few times in his life...Now, sitting together at the kitchen table at six-thirty every evening, his father's chair empty, this meatless meal is the only thing that seems to make sense. ↗

— Jhumpa Lahiri

#life

My life has become a dismal sigh fettered by pangs of grief and anguished weeping. ↗

— Richelle E. Goodrich

#discouragement #giving-up #grief #hopelessness #resignation

I lost a child," she said, meeting Lusa's eyes directly. "I thought I wouldn't live through it. But you do. You learn to love the place somebody leaves behind for you. ↗

— Barbara Kingsolver

#loss #love

My heart was broken so badly last time that it still hurts. Isn't that crazy? To still have a broken heart almost two years after a love story ends?  ↗

— Elizabeth Gilbert

#heartbreak #love

A selfish person can still love someone else, can't they? Even when they've hurt them and let them down. ↗

— Rosamund Lupton

#guilt #self-realization #love

It may be a cat, a bird, a ferret, or a guinea pig, but the chances are high that when someone close to you dies, a pet will be there to pick up the slack. Pets devour the loneliness. They give us purpose, responsibility, a reason for getting up in the morning, and a reason to look to the future. They ground us, help us escape the grief, make us laugh, and take full advantage of our weakness by exploiting our furniture, our beds, and our refrigerator. We wouldn't have it any other way. Pets are our seat belts on the emotional roller coaster of life--they can be trusted, they keep us safe, and they sure do smooth out the ride. ↗

— Nick Trout

#love #pets #humor

Still everyone, including the abbot, had said that he was running away from his grief. They'd had no idea what they were talking about. He'd cradled his grief, almost to the point of loving it. For so long he refused to give it up, because leaving it behind was like leaving her. ↗

— Sue Monk Kidd

#love

When I saw your strand of hair I knew that grief is love turned into an eternal missing. ↗

— Rosamund Lupton

#love #love

Loving someone means that you will inevitable grieve for them; love is an engraved invitation for grief. ↗

— Sunshine O'Donnell

#love #love