The house is a lot too quiet, the car rides seem a little mundane, the morning routine goes a bit faster and the world seems turned upside down. Everything changes after losing someone you love, does not matter if it is a pet or a human loved one, the world changes.

We all experience grief in our own ways, but time is the one thing that ties us all together. Grieving takes time, thats a known fact. Traditional work places give a minimal number of bereavement days with pay and then we are expected to return to work as normal at the same work load as before. If we show that we are not ready then there is the fear of losing our job and losing our income. How does this make sense? How is this the way society is set up? How does someone truly grieve when the world seems totally against it?

As a small business owner, with no partners, return to work could be as early as the day after losing someone. Why? For some it is the sole source of income, and without customers coming in, we lose money and ultimately can not pay our bills and we could potentially lose the business. So at night, after worrying about everything business, we go home and comfort our family as best we can, continue to work on the business and put our own grief on the back burner. Being a small business owner is not always as glamorous as people think, while we do get to set our own "hours" many times these hours include much more then what is posted on the store front door or website. Supporting a small business helps in so many ways, but ultimately you are helping them grieve by taking some of the stress off their shoulders. For that we salute our customers, our friends...we couldn't get through the grief without you. 

Yesterday I said goodbye to my best friend and little girl of 12 years. Yesterday my world turned upside down and became too quiet. Yesterday I sat in her spot and cried...Today I woke up to silence and let my other little fur ball sit on the no dogs allowed couch. Today I sat in her spot and cried...and....

Today I took a shower...and that's okay