Saturday, March 11th… I was out for a weekend run.

I looked up to the heavens at 4:15 pm to see the sun piercing through the clear blue sky.

At that moment, I said, “Hi Faye”.

It was at about 4:15 pm, on March 11, 2021, that Faye said her final earthly good bye, surrounded by Laurie, Minx, Scott and me with the kind MAID team.

I’ve come to see Q1 of each year as the season of grieving.

It creates a shift in my psyche beginning in January, just after the social peak of Christmas and New Year celebrations.

It’s the longer colder days plus the anticipation of facing the anniversaries of losing three figures in my life.

It slides towards recession by February 8, with the trifecta anniversary of Angelhood:

February 9, 1993 - mom suffers a brain aneurysm and is rushed to the hospital

February 9, 2004 - Danny (my brother) chooses his Angel wings

February 9, 2021 - Faye (my mother-in-law) is admitted to Elizabeth Bruyere for advanced pain management.

And in the first part of March each year, I pay tribute to the memory of Mom and Mom in Law:

Nancy Irene O’Connell (nee Cook)     May 23, 1949 to March 6, 1993

And the fresher memory of GI Faye Lee (nee McCullough)    September 6, 1949 to March 11, 2021

Then as the snow melts, spring blossoms and the grief dissipates.

Hope recoversand expansive thinking returns.

And so it goes, with another turn around the sun.

Naturally:

We cycle through…

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Economically:

We cycle through…

Peak

Recession

Trough

Recovery

Expansion

And when it comes to our feelings and emotions, we cycle through our lived experiences and memories.

Grief.

It will ‘activate’ when you least expect it.

And, it is OK to feel the feels.

Actually, it is better to feel the feels than to dig a hole and try to bury them.

I know that if I have not loved and lost I would not grieve.

Right?

So.

I embrace grief.

And, what is that old adage?

It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Each time I cycle through the season, I learn something new about myself and the world around me.

What about you - Self Made Nation?

How do you handle grief?

What about when things are not going your way?

Do you fight the pain or embrace it?

Build your business as if you’ll sell it tomorrow; for a satisfying profit regardless of economic highs and lows. I can help!

My name is Colleen-O’Connell-Campbell and I help entrepreneurs plan cash rich exits from their business, when they are ready. If you’re looking for more information on planning strategies for your business that will get you to a cash-rich exit in 3-10 years, I’d love to have a chat.

Please reach out to me via email or LinkedIn.

Peace,️ Colleen