Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Reflecting on the Ribbon

The Shloshim period ended a few days ago.  In Judaism, Shloshim is the period of thirty days of deep mourning following a death.  As I unpinned the black ribbon from my chest for the last time, I looked at it, ran my fingers over it, held it against my heart and reflected on its visual meaning to me. It gave me a sense of honoring my beloved's memory, a tangible marker of who my family has lost. For a fleeting few moments, I wanted to continue to wear the ribbon indefinitely.  Instead, I held it to my lips, memories flooding into my mind's eye and unbearable sadness racing through my heart. Then I quietly put it into a drawer for safekeeping.

Mentally, I will wear that ribbon forever.

Copyright © 2017, Reisa Sterling Miller. All Rights Reserved


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