Some days, I catch myself grieving things I thought I’d already moved past.

It’s not loud — more like a shadow that lingers in familiar places... an old song, a quiet memory, a question I never got to ask.

And when it shows up, it’s rarely neat. There’s frustration. Confusion. A dull ache that doesn’t always make sense to the present version of me.

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It’s easy to want to tuck those feelings away, to tell myself I should be “over it by now” or that it wasn’t that deep. But the truth is, feelings don’t follow timelines. They resurface when they need to be witnessed — not fixed, not judged, just felt.

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This week’s affirmation is a reminder I didn’t know I needed: My feelings are valid, even when they are messy.

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Even when they show up unexpectedly. Even when they contradict what I thought I knew. Even when they feel like a step backward.

They still belong.
They still mean something.

And maybe giving them space to breathe is the most loving thing I can do for myself right now.

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So this week, I’m letting them be. All of them. And I’m trusting that validation is its own kind of healing.