Grief, mourning, bereavement

When teaching we dealt with grief, I have written about this process. Children's fears must be addressed. On 9/11, the principal where I was teaching got on the loud speaker and told the entire elementary school about the twin towers. The children were afraid to walk home, afraid a plane would kill them. We talk about bereavement and mourning a great deal. Teachers are wise to address this, and school boards send in Trauma Teams when there is an incident.
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This is a celebration of life. I've made videos of my boys:
 Kittens in castle, shows their playfulness; KITTENS in the swamp, as my boys liked to play in the wetland, and didn't realize that the floating water lily leaves weren't able to hold their weight! I had to wash them off in the bathtub, as they smelled pretty swampy!

Cat and mouse standoff

Buster caught a mouse out in our backyard. Sadie was watching carefully, non-pussed. 

The brothers argued about a mouse one of them caught. They don't hesitate to steal one another's captures! 
I made a collage of their antics:
  

Grief is the emotional response to loss - of loved ones, job, home, family situation; divorce.

Bereavement is a state you are in after a loss, with many cultures having specific traditions for mourning.

burrs, again!

The mourning process is one based in culture and values, with rituals surrounding the practice. I remember helping a student write her grandfather's eulogy. The priest wouldn't let her read it in church, but she read it at the wake.

The one ritual I had in my classroom was to read the Tenth best Thing About Barney whenever a child experienced a loss - for the loss affected the entire classroom. In this story: a child loses a cat and the family tries to find ten wonderful things about their late pet.