Day of the Dead celebration

Was awesome as usual!! Every year a local art gallery does this very elaborate Day of the Dead celebration. Alters are set up all over the place, candles lit, skeletons are everywhere and good food and music. People set up their alters to their loved ones or even celebrities or events where many died.
I stopped in front of one that showed a girl of about 4 years old-- blonde and cute as a button and a very beautiful alter. Nothing about how she died or when--just a visual memory of her.
As i stood there a woman came up to me and said...this is my daughter. I said it is a beautiful alter and I know she feels it. I asked if she would like to share about her daughters death...she teared up and said she was 32 and committed suicide 7 years ago. By now of course I am tearing up and I hug her and just hold that sacred space for her to share with me her story. I was honored for her to tell me and I am glad i was there at that moment for her and for me.
Someone sharing a painful part of life is an honor we dont often stand still for..we are all in such a hurry that stopping and breathing and honoring someone else is not something we do often. She told me how healing making this alter had been and how grateful she was that she was able to do this. Healing is a long process no matter the circumstance. So often people tell us after a few weeks to just get over it already...and yet for those who have felt loss, it is just not that easy. Grief comes and goes, strikes at odd times when a memory comes in and still is a visceral feeling in the heart. Over time it is less and less but do we or should we even really "get over it"? Death or loss is hard but it is also what can shape us and mold us and help us have more compassion for those around us. How we get over it is our own personal path and none can tell us how to do it. None can know how long we will take to heal and process.
It is a journey of alone.

I am grateful to this women for her story and I know her daughter felt the love.