On Mourning

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of mourning being a privilege. I think the way mourning is romanticized does present it as a privilege, different people have different means and therefor more access to ways of dealing with their loss. I think it is important to understand the difference between mourning and grief. There really is no way to escape either, but grief may the more exhausting of the two. My mom lost her mother in February and the transition to the holiday season has been especially tough on her, we were at a family party yesterday and she kept saying “fake it till you make it.” She forces a smile and that almost puts away the burden of mourning but that makes the burden of grief so much more present on her face. There is a privilege in mourning if you look at it from a economic point of view, can you afford to take the time off from work, can you pay for therapy etc. but everyone has their losses and everyone will need to grieve and mourn in whatever way they can regardless of financial ability.