10 Ways to Feel Extra Love

For that Special Someone Who has Passed on

Contributed by Jude Creamer, Bradenton & Sarasota Realtor

1. Set aside extra time to enjoy a few of his personal belongings.  Smell his shirts, sit in his favorite chair and feel his arms enveloping you.  If you didn’t live together and you need to sell their home and clean out the space, spend some time being in the space and remembering the wonderful experiences that took place there before you begin clearing out their belongings
2. Stop your busy day to breathe in a thought of her and breathe out your gratitude for her role in your life.
3. Find a gifted seamstress to make a quilt of his favorite tee shirts and enjoy watching tv with it draped over your lap, or gift it to someone who will cherish it.
4. Seek out her friends who might appreciate a cherished object or furniture from her life and offer the opportunity for them to come choose and have it for their home.  You could mention this to each of them at the funeral or celebration of life.
5. Photograph those special objects that you’re having trouble parting with, but which you know will only collect dust in your home or take up precious storage space.  Create a memory book of photos of these precious items interspersed with your favorite photos of your loved one.
6. Make a monetary donation to a cause that was near and dear to their heart.  Make an appointment to visit a meeting and tell them how important this group and cause was to your loved one.
7. Instead of a traditional funeral (if you know that wasn’t of particular importance to your loved one) gather their friends in a circle and have everyone share (in no particular order) a special memory they have and what this person meant to them.  Video the event so you’ll have these memories to look back on.
8. Establish a drive in their name to raise funds for a charitable cause or collect items to benefit a cause or the community in which they lived.
9. Plant a tree in his memory.  As the tree grows, it will preserve your memory of your loved one, and each new season will bring back different memories.
10. Live your best life.  Be the person they know you to be.

BONUS: Surround yourself with caring, loving, thoughtful people who can assist you with what needs to get done.  Some things are more time bound, others require patience and can be done in their own time and space. Either way, trust your gut and make sure your support team is, indeed, supportive.

If you need to do all this AND do it long-distance, look for my guide on “Closing the Book” on a loved-one’s estate (in my blog pages).