I’ve cried more tears this year than in the last 20 years combined. It has been a really rough year, between the death of my father, the death of my aunt, and the death of my beloved kitty of over 21 years. Life isn’t always rainbows and roses. Sometimes life really sucks. It’s okay that it sucks, because life has ups and downs, and death is a natural part of life, and so is grieving. My family got to see me cry, and I cried with them over our losses this year. I cried with my cousins over the loss of their mother. It’s important to let people know that it’s OK to cry, and to grieve. Why shouldn’t it be? Leaders cry too. Especially at important times, and not because they are weak, but maybe because they are strong, and not afraid of being perceived as weak for being human. It’s a condition that affects all of us.
As I approach my first Christmas without either of my parents, I am struck by how desolate it feels, and how a piece of me is truly missing. That’s grief for you. Its not that I grieve all the time. I do celebrate plenty of things, but I also give myself to stop, and remember. Because leaders cry too.
