The New Year often prompts people to talk about fresh starts, clean slates, new beginnings, and moving forward. For those of us who are grieving, those words can feel heavy and even isolating. There were times when I dreaded facing a new year without Eric. But eventually I learned that grief doesn’t follow the calendar. That love doesn’t disappear because the year changes. And healing doesn’t happen on a timeline.

At EricsHouse, we know that grief and hope can exist in the same breath. As we step into 2026, we are not asked to forget who and what we have lost. Instead, we are invited to move forward gently, carrying what still matters and releasing what no longer serves our healing.

What Should We Take Into 2026?

Love That Still Lives
Grief exists because love exists. As we teach in our groups, they are two sides of the same coin. Love does not end when someone dies. We carry the memories, the connection, and the bond that continues because love never stops. It changes, but it remains eternal.

Permission to Grieve Honestly
At EricsHouse, we believe there is no “right” way to grieve. In 2026, we carry the freedom to feel what we feel: sadness, anger, joy, confusion, peace, and everything in between. Grief is not something to fix. It is something to witness, to support, and to honor.

The Strength We Didn’t Ask For but Found
Loss changes us. It deepens us. It reshapes our hearts. While we would never choose this path, we acknowledge the courage it takes to keep showing up, to keep loving, and to keep breathing through the pain. That strength comes with us.

Faith—Even When It’s Fragile
Faith after loss may look different. It may be quieter. It may include questions. It may simply be the decision to trust your higher being one more day. We carry that faith forward—not because it answers everything, but because it holds us when nothing else makes sense.

Hope, Reimagined
Hope does not mean everything will be okay. Sometimes hope means believing that we can survive when we didn’t think we could. It means trusting that even in the darkest moments, we are not alone.

What Should We Leave Behind?

The Pressure to “Be Over It”
There is no timeline for grief. No milestone where pain suddenly disappears. In 2026, we leave behind the idea that healing should look a certain way.  

Guilt for Feeling Joy
Moments of joy are not betrayals of love. Smiling, laughing, or feeling peace does not mean we have forgotten. We leave behind the guilt that tells us otherwise.

Comparisons
No two grief journeys are the same. We leave behind the need to compare our pain, our progress, or our process to anyone else’s.

The Need to Explain Ourselves
Grief changes what we can handle, where we go, and how we show up. We leave behind the burden of explaining our grief to those who may not understand.

The Idea of “Closure”
Grief is not something we close the door on. Love keeps the door open. Healing doesn’t mean closure—it means learning how to live while carrying both love and loss.

Moving Into 2026 Together

As we enter 2026, we do so gently. We come as we are—grieving, healing, hoping, and remembering. At EricsHouse, we walk this path together, honoring every story, holding every broken heart, and seeking the moments of joy that connect us to our loved ones.

You don’t have to leave your loved one behind to move forward.
You don’t have to be strong every day.
And you don’t have to walk this journey alone.

This new year doesn’t ask us to forget.
It asks us to continue—with compassion, faith, hope, and love.  And the greatest of these is love.  And that is enough.