The Nature of Grief

I’ve been writing these blog posts, so far, from as neutral and factual a standpoint as I possibly can. I have immersed myself and my children in nature, looking at the world in awe, always remembering the infamous words of my dad about, “no miserable shit!” Those words have brought me a surprising amount of comfort, but as painful as it is to admit, I am still a daughter who is grieving the very recent loss of her father, and sometimes I can't help but to feel the deep sadness that comes with losing a parent. Benno and I are extremely lucky that our dad instilled in both of us a great love of, and comfort in, the natural world. From the moment we could toddle, dad would take us walking through ancient woodlands to take plaster of Paris casts of the footprints we found, we would travel this country and beyond to watch rare birds, and we spent incredible holidays off grid in France at a fishing lake, completely surrounded by nature for weeks, and so much more. And I know that all of…