Start of another tough season

On January 30th I received a phone call from a thoughtful friend who keeps track of important dates. She had remembered that it was Julia's birthday and just called to check on me.  I wish I were organized enough to call others on significant dates, but I never seem to accomplish that.  At any rate, I appreciated her call, as well as kind remarks on Facebook by my little brother and others.

Julia's birthday is a hard day for me and is the beginning of an emotional season.  Next up, Valentine's Day without my sweetheart, followed by the 3rd anniversary of his death, lightened by Anne Marie's birthday the next day, and then Neal's birthday.  That's January 30th to March 4th with lots of sweet memories and unexpected waves of grief.
After Neal's birthday I should be okay until May when the same thing happens again - Memorial Day and the anniversary of Julia's death and then observing our wedding anniversary alone.
I have learned to be kind to myself during these seasons, so as soon as I figure out the budget I plan to do some things just for me: a haircut, a massage, maybe a pedicure, and perhaps even a short trip out of town.  I need to schedule a chiropractic adjustment because I had a bad fall a few days ago, but I prepay him ten visits at a time (great price break for doing that) and had to wait until my annuity was deposited before writing that check.
I don't have much contact with Neal's daughters anymore and I miss them.  I'm not really sure why that has happened but they were around the first year after his death and I was grateful for their support.
Maybe it was time for them to move on with their lives, focusing on themselves, their mother and their own interests.