Milestones are an important part of marking life’s journey, but when you’ve experienced loss through bereavement, they can take on an extra significance. Every milestone is a reminder of the absence of our loved ones and has the potential to reignite strong emotions including grief.

Read on for my own recent experience of reaching a milestone, plus some reflections on things to consider to support you through the range of emotions associated with these special but poignant moments.

And so with the ending of summer, comes the return of school, and this can be hard to adjust to. The start of school signifies a transition – a change from the old and familiar into the beginning of something new and uncertain. For bereaved children, this can be a particularly challenging time. Think about it … they’re about to embark on a change from the old and familiar into the beginning of something new and uncertain. Our children have already experienced the painful emotions of transition when their parent died, and so any kind of transition has the potential to trigger those painful feelings of uncertainty, worry, and fear again.