Tonight, I attended the Daughters Mourning Mothers workshop presented by HomeReach Hospice. As an aside, I dropped out of the Grief Recovery program a couple of weeks ago, and that falls under the heading: Another Story For Another Day. Suffice to say I think Grief Recovery is a very good program, but it wasn’t for me – at least not right now.

The workshop tonight was exactly what I was hoping it would be. Small group of women who are grieving the loss of their mothers. Very focused, very specific. This is just what I needed. I felt like they “got me,” and I “got them.”

Our stories were different, yet very much the same. The complexity and depth of the mother/daughter relationship is unique; there’s no other relationship quite like it. I believe that until you’ve lost your mother, you can’t understand this special kind of grief.

Make no mistake, I’m not suggesting that my grief is any deeper or more painful than that of a person experiencing a different kind of loss. But, the key word is different. I don’t think anyone can understand what it’s like to lose your mother like another woman who has lost her mother. I would assume the same applies for loss of child, spouse, et cetera.

In any case, I left Kobacker House tonight wishing that this was an ongoing group rather than just a one-off workshop. Unfortunately, due to lack of resources, they don’t offer a support group specifically for daughters who have lost mothers, but apparently it’s a popular request. Perhaps someday.

I need to spend some time processing everything I took in this evening, but look for more in an upcoming Caregivers piece.