February settles in quietly, and 2026 continues to unfold one day at a time. The urgency of new beginnings has softened, but for grieving parents, the ache remains unchanged. It is still another year around the sun without their beloved child. Another year of quiet missing. Another year of longing for a piece of heart that can never be replaced. Another year added to the many years still to come…
For my family, New Year’s Day once held special meaning. It nearly coincided with Rishaan’s birthday on December 28. We celebrated both together, his birthday and New Year’s Eve, with friends and family gathered in our home – there was laughter, bonding, joy and a sense of gratitude that comes with living the life you dreamed of. And then everything changed.
After his demise, all days are filled with an inexplicable emptiness but the time of year around his birthday and new year’s feels particularly heavy. Moving into a new year feels like time is pulling me further away from him, from his memories, from the version of life where he was still here with me. And it feels unfair.
So how do we cope? There is plenty of advice on the internet on coping strategies for grieving parents. Many find comfort in staying connected to their child’s memory like lighting a candle, speaking their name, preparing their favorite food, or doing something meaningful in their honor. Art provides some comfort too; music and poems give us words that we often struggle to find. I found these lines from a poem titled “In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver that find reflective:
“…To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.”
For grieving parents, letting go does not mean loving less. It means carrying love in new, unfamiliar ways in a world that’s forever changed, year after year.
Neha Bhatnagar