Grief

Grieving is a funny thing. It rolls under the surface, masked as anger, or irritation, or PMS. (Don't we ever outgrow that??) It goes unrecognized because no one died.

Turns out grief isn't reserved for funerals and the loss of loved ones; it's for the ending of anything significant. After graduation, you mourn the loss of your school life. When you move, you mourn the loss of your old home, your old habits, your old town. When you change jobs, you mourn the loss of coworkers, friends, and familiarity.

And when you end a relationship, no matter the reasons, there is grieving. The loss of what you had, and what you were supposed to have. The loss of a future you became attached to, and comforted by. And relationships have chain reactions...the older you get, the farther they reach. Your family, your extended family, friends, children, ... Each individual impact has its own set of reasons for sadness.

And sometimes, you hear an echo.

When the grief of the moment is parallel to another time in your past, your heart grieves again. When I lost my grandmother last year, I was surprised by how much I dearly missed the rest of that generation who had gone before her. They were all on my mind, in my dreams. I miss them so much. I miss their love.

Or when you break-up, perhaps you desire the "one that got away" so long ago. It doesn't appear to have any connection to current events. It's simply an echo.