For many of those who have had to live through the tragedy of losing a loved one there are often several months of grief and sadness that survivors must endure following the death. In many situations, there is no time or space where it is appropriate to openly grieve. People are surrounded by places filled with memories and familiar smells that haunt them. Some are left with family responsibilities and must constantly appear strong so the underlying infrastructure doesn’t crumble beneath them. A few weeks after the loss of a loved one, neighbors stop bringing over meals and those more distant begin to forget. However, the loss is still very new and those more closely related to the deceased are often still only in the beginning stages of grief and attempting to piece their lives back to normal.
The last thing one might think of is taking a vacation during this time period; however, those who do, find that it is much easier to proceed in their grieving process. Those who choose to go somewhere fun, where they can take their minds off the sadness that has overwhelmed their lives, find that they don’t forget that they are grieving, but find it easier to remember the happier times with their loved one. For others, a vacation taken alone to a familiar spot may be easier, it gives the person the time and space to openly grieve and heal.
After the death of her teenage daughter to suicide, Jaletta Desmond, described how she and her husband decided to go to Las Vegas to celebrate a friend’s birthday only a couple of months after the tragedy. Desmond describes that “Although we were able to laugh and visit and enjoy our friends and each other, we knew jumping on a jet to Vegas wouldn’t carry us away from our grief.” However, they both found that it was refreshing to be temporarily distracted by their sadness. She believed that her experience in Vegas somehow revived her and allowed her to begin to move past the grief that she had dwelled in for so long while also allowing her to become more equipped to go back to a home filled with past memories.
-E. Robinson
To find out more on Jaletta Desmond’s journey, please click here.
