Grief Connect

13/02/2026

Valentine’s Day is not only coming up... it's tomorrow.

For many of us in the Grief Connect® Widowed Support Groups, this is not just another date on the calendar.
It is another event day we face without our person. And event days can feel especially confronting when we are widowed.

While the world leans into romance, celebration, and togetherness, we might find ourselves sitting with the sharp contrast of absence. We miss our person, and wonder how life has taken us down this road.
We can often have memories come up....thinking about the flowers they brought home....the card they chose..... the dinner we shared... the silly private jokes....the small rituals that made the day ours.

If this is you, you may be feeling:

• Deep sadness
• Loneliness
• Anger
• Resentment toward other couples
• Or simply exhausted by it all

If any of that is true for you, that is okay. These responses are not flaws in character. They are reflections of love and loss. For others, we may be able to feel that the day is becoming easier to get through.

No matter where you are at, supporting yourself through Valentines Day and grief is really important.

That might look like:

• Planning something gentle and energy raising so the day does not take you by surprise.
• Distracting yourself with an activity if that feels helpful.
• Choosing to stay home and just being, doing what you need to, without pressure.
• Doing one small, kind thing for yourself (book that massage, take a bath, time with a pet)
• Reaching out so you are not alone..... people around us want to help, let them in and know where you are at.

Being aware of where you are at emotionally gives you choice. You get to decide how you move through this day.

And please remember, you do not have to carry it by yourself!!
If Valentine’s Day feels heavy, post in our Grief Connect® Widowed Support groups.
Share honestly. Let others sit alongside you. We keep going, together.

13/02/2026

I’m really looking forward to being part of this important community conversation.

Come and chat with me at Think Outside the Box on Thursday 26th February, between 10am and 2pm at the Collie Senior Citizens Centre.

This free event is not your average information session. It is a no fluff, tell it like it is space where real conversations happen about something we all eventually face, the art of a good goodbye.

Grief Connect® is very proud to support this event alongside William Barrett & Sons. Our work is grounded in practical education, honest dialogue, and building confidence in conversations many people avoid. We believe communities are stronger when people feel informed, prepared, and supported.

Whether you are planning ahead, caring for someone, supporting a loved one, or simply curious, this is a safe and grounded place to ask the questions you have been holding back.

Come and find me. Let’s talk openly. Let’s make these conversations easier for families in Collie and beyond.

📍 Collie Senior Citizens Centre
🗓 Thursday 26th February
⏰ 10am to 2pm
☕ Morning tea and sandwiches provided

Grief Connect® is excited to stand alongside other professionals who are committed to equipping our community with knowledge, clarity, and confidence.
I would love to see you there!
Make sure you RSVP or register online if you can make it as there is a lovely morning tea and sandwiches to enjoy.

William Barrett and Sons

12/02/2026

Dawson's Creek lovers, sad news of James' death. Thinking of his family right now x

11/02/2026

When you’re grieving, it can feel like the grief pain will never change. It can feel terrifying and brain fog can overtake our pre-loss functioning.

It's important to remember that our brain is an incredible organ and it needs time to process our grief.

In time, our brain functioning returns and those periods of clarity in thought start to come back and become more frequent.

If you know someone who is struggling missing their person, hit the share button so they know they are not alone.

Specialised grief counselling is available with Grief Connect.
Find out more by sending a private message.

Dying to Know AASW WA Branch Australian Rural Leadership Foundation Australian Association of Social Workers Mental Health Movement Western Australian Association for Mental Health William Barrett and Sons

11/02/2026

A video on how grief doesn't always look like sadness.

Follow me for more info on grief and how to manage it.

09/02/2026

I received a notification from Facebook about the Grief Connect® Young Widowed Support Group:
“Celebrate your group growing to over 1,000 members.”

And I’ve been sitting with that… because the truth is, this isn’t a moment that can be marked with a hurrah.

There’s no confetti for this milestone.
No celebration image that really fits.

Because this number exists only because of grief, loss, and lives forever changed.

As a widow myself, I don’t see 1,000 members.

I see 1,000 individual stories. Trust me when I say that it never gets easier reading each member group request.
1,000 people who have a photo just like mine, it's not just a photo, it's a life of their late partner and kids.
1,000 experiences of grief and trauma, and vice versa.
1,000 lives forever changed, not just a little bit. Every single aspect of life has changed. Hopes, dreams as it was supposed to be... smashed to pieces.
1,000 people who have had to dig from the darkest of depths to figure out who they are, missing their person and often parenting small babies and older children and teens who are deeply missing their parent.
1,000 people who never asked to join this widowed club.

Every membership request I read carries its own tragedy, its own love story, its own moment where everything shifted.

Alongside this group is its sister community is the Grief Connect® Over 55s Widowed Peer Support Group.
Together, these two peer support groups now support over 2,100 widowed people, living across every corner of Australia.

And yet… the reality is sobering.

According to Census 2021, there are 1,029,142 widowed people living in Australia.
What we are reaching matters deeply, but it is only a fraction of those who need connection, understanding, and support.

Over the past nearly 8 years of my own widowhood, the free online and in-person peer support offered through Grief Connect® has been nothing short of tremendous, powerful, therapeutic, and life-changing.

The healing that happens when widowed people hold space together without explanation, without judgement... is real and is life saving.

And still, peer support remains under recognised for the profound impact it has.

This is also a moment to say: We need your help.

If you are a organisation, business, or individual who would like to be involved in supporting the rapidly expanding growth of Grief Connect® widowed support groups, I would love to hear from you.

Your support helps create safe spaces.
It helps people feel less alone.
It helps turn isolation into connection, and despair into hope.

The groups changes lives behind the scenes, when everyone else gets to go home to their own comfy bed, and widowed people are left at home, feeling alone in missing our person and grief... these groups create connection and fight hard against social isolation and improve mental health mindsets.

So while I can’t “hurrah” that our group has grown, I can ask for a hand in continuing the mammouth momentum of support in our groups.

If you’d like to support me in reaching more widowed people across Australia, please send me a message and let’s talk.

08/02/2026

Ross and I got married last year. Here is a little fun caricature of us and our midlife new normal!

🥰

06/02/2026

05/02/2026

Hit the follow button to be the first to hear of the official launch of The Grief Language Project Education Program!

Behind the scenes today.... recording recording recording!

04/02/2026

Your grief is unique.

I want you to hear this: your grief is yours, and only yours.
Stop comparing your journey to others.
It's an easy trap to fall into, but be aware of it, and pull those reins back!

There is no “right” way to grieve.
There is no timeline you must follow.
There is no measure of how much or how little you should feel.

Your tears, your memories, your quiet moments, your laughter, all of it belongs to you and your journey.
It’s ok... it's SO ok... that your grief looks different from anyone else’s.

Take the time to find your own compass.
Your feelings, your instincts, your heart, let them guide you.
It may feel uncertain, but following your own path will help you navigate your grief in a way that is truly yours.

Trust your process.
Be gentle with yourself.
Your path is yours and your grief is valid.

If you need a hand along your grief journey, send a private message to find out about how online counselling can help you find your way forward.

04/02/2026

Keep an eye out for the microjoys, the small signs life is good.

Noticing these small things and intentionally pausing to notice, can help break the heaviness of grief.

03/02/2026

A WA hero!! What a legend!!! 🥰🥰🥰

It was meant to be a simple family day on the water. It became life or death. https://bit.ly/4kd99D0