How do you cope?

"How do you cope, with it all" was a question I was asked last week.
It was a question that made me think, how do I cope?
It was not just how do I cope with my own living bereavement but it was how do I cope with the thousands of grandparents who contact me.
I think we all have our own ways of coping, we can pretend it isn't really happening to us, we can become engulfed in the grief or we can share.
On our website I talk about turning a negative into a positive and that was what I felt I had to do when I was faced with being denied contact with my granddaughter.
It is true to say that just sometimes I have to recharge my batteries and take time out.
Listening to so many heartbreaking stories, so much sadness of course has an affect on me. I do have to go and shed a tear or two every now and again, but the positives totally outweigh the negatives.
I have 'met' so many wonderful people and I hope made lifelong friends because we have a common bond.
Although I may have just put the phone down on a terribly distressed grandparent I then pick up the phone to a grandparent who has not heard anything from their grandchildren for years only to have just been contacted by them. The overwhelming joy in that grandparents voice is so powerful, I only wish I could share that emotion with everyone.
The kindness I receive from others is immeasurable and I will be eternally grateful.
BGSG uses Twitter a great deal, it is a great tool for reaching people and today I had one of my blogs RT'ed underneath they said they followed the Good Guys and they said I was one, I have never met these people at all, they just read my blogs, and it made me cry.
I am not a 'Good Guy' I am just a gran who misses her granddaughter and if I can lend an ear to others thats fine, that makes it all worth while.
Hang in there everyone we are here for each other.
Jane
www.bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk