Coping with Grief: Day 7 - Deathiversary

I woke-up at 3:16 AM grateful for the extra six minutes of blissful unawareness. One week ago, I was consuming my final moments with Lady Gaga. It seems like a lifetime ago, yet it also feels like a wink. Intellectually I know she is gone, but emotionally it is still hard to process. If I had a dollar for every tear I’ve shed my bank account would rival Oprah’s.

When I’ve lost dogs in the past I always committed to give no credence to deathiversaries. I’ve never understood why some mourners wish to commemorate the day of death. It always struck me as self-inflicted torture by rumination. I acknowledge today marks one week since Lady Gaga’s passing, but today merits no morose tribute; focusing on death does not honor her life-affirming memory.

Instead (weather permitting) Elvis and I will head to Lake Calhoun. We will go kayaking, eat ice cream and wade into the water for Gaga’s bumper. She will be with us in spirit if not in soul. We will celebrate her life not the deleterious effects of bereavement. For a moment, we will break from fettered reality and focus on sun-soaked memories of glee.

I miss you, Gaga, my Googie Monster. Breathing through the first week without you was ruff.