Valentine’s Day can be a bittersweet reminder of love and loss for those who are grieving a spouse. This episode offers gentle guidance and support for navigating this emotionally charged day. Discover thoughtful ways you can show up for a grieving friend or family member, from simple gestures of acknowledgment to practical offers of help. We also dive deep into self-care strategies for widows and widowers, including managing grief triggers, honoring cherished memories, and practicing radical self-compassion. This episode is a compassionate guide to surviving Valentine’s Day while honoring the pain, love, and healing journey of those who have lost a spouse. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Valentine’s Day Tips For The Grieving Hearts My name is Tina Fornwald. I am the founder of Widowhood Real Talk with Tina. My late husband, Mark, passed away in March 2017 from an unexpected heart attack and it is Valentine’s Day. I understand from my perspective that it is a hard date to endure sometimes. I wanted to take some time to share with you some items that I have found helpful in dealing with Valentine’s Day and things that I believe will be helpful for you. I do have some notes, so I’ll be looking down as we discuss this. How Friends And Family Can Support A Widow On Valentine’s Day One of the things that I want to talk about first is that this part of the conversation is not for widowhood. This part of the conversation is for the family and friends of people who are widowed. Oftentimes, people ask me, “How can I support my friend who lost their spouse? What is something that I can do for them?” This is part of the conversation, I’m giving to you now, and you can accomplish it in the future. Thoughtful Ways To Show You Care: Sending Cards, Flowers, And Gifts One of the first things that you can do is send them a card. You may be tuning in to this show now, which is February 13th. You can still put that card in the mail. If you live in local proximity, you can take the card and drop it off in their mailbox. The card can come from you. You are their friend. You are their family member. You may be their child, cousin, uncle, aunt, someone who knows them, or a next-door neighbor, but you know that they miss their spouse. Giving them a card is a way to symbolize, “I acknowledge your pain. I see you and I understand this is difficult, but I’m here with you on this journey.” The other thing that you can do is you can send them flowers, an edible fruit arrangement, or whatever type of thing that if you received would be a welcoming thing to have. You know them well enough that you’re tuning in to this episode, so I know you care about them. I encourage you to consider sending them flowers or sending them the edible fruit arrangement. I know it is February 13th. They may get it a day or so late, but it will still let them know that you care and you are thinking about them. The other thing that you can do is you can send a gift. Maybe you have their Amazon wishlist because you guys are friends. Maybe you’ve been speaking with them and they’ve shared different things that they would like to have. Buy it for them. You can leave it as an anonymous gift or you can let them know that you sent it to them. Either way, you are still identifying, “I see your pain, I see your challenge, and it doesn’t go unnoticed, and I am on this journey with you.” You will hear me say, “I am on this journey with you,” because it is important. It is vital. It is critical for them to know that even though they are grieving their spouse, there is a community, and you are part of that community that is there with them so that they know they don’t have to isolate. They don’t have to hide their grief. You are willing to allow them to have a safe space where they can be vulnerable, and you are on this journey with them. Offering Practical Help: Acts Of Kindness To Lighten A Widow’s Load The other thing that you can do is you can offer to take her out. You may say, “Can we go out for lunch? Can we go out for dinner? Can we go to a movie? Can we go for a walk? Can you go to the mall with me? Can I go run errands with you?” You can let them know, “I want to celebrate you for Valentine’s Day.” Any of those things can be an appropriate way or maybe you know them in such a way that there’s something else that you can do and spend time with them. I encourage you to reach out. Maybe you can offer to help with something that you know they cannot stand doing. When my late husband passed, the idea of taking out the trash was painful. Mark took out the trash or the children did. Having to get the trash can, roll it to the front of our house, and leave it there left me in tears. I was devastated. Maybe you know that their spouse was responsible for shoveling the driveway. Maybe you know that their spouse would clean off their car. The simple task of doing something like that for them maybe over the course