Why I Wear Green on March 8
Author Hilary Harrington, LCPC, CT
March is National Women’s History Month, and March 8 is International Women’s Day. The month is set aside, in part, to honor women’s contributions in American history.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Choose to Challenge.” The International Women’s Day website explains the theme: “Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions—all day, every day. We can choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequity. We can choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.”
Purple, green and white are the colors of International Women’s Day. I choose to wear green because it symbolizes hope. If you are grieving, hope can be hard to find at first, but it’s there.
Gilchrist offers a special event each March to honor the women (and girls) in your lives that, through death, have left this world but not your life. As the pandemic continues to keep us apart, this event is on hold.
However, our support provides the space to recognize what your loved ones continue to mean to you. Our grief counseling sessions and support groups provide opportunities to share your fondest memories of your loved ones. We encourage you to continue with traditions while finding new ways to keep their memories alive.
This March, consider honoring your special women by sharing how they created change in your life or the lives of others. We encourage you to CELEBRATE each one: moms, grandmoms, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, wives, spouses, aunts, nieces, friends! What do you miss the most about her? What do you love to tell others about her? What do you do now because she taught or inspired you? Did she leave her mark by “challenging to create change”?
Even in our grief, we can celebrate. Consider asking friends and family to send you their “favorites” of your loved one. Share your stories and photographs with us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gilchristgriefgroup/. Are you talking to a Gilchrist grief counselor? Explore with them what you want to remember and how to mark her achievements.
In our grief, we need to move forward, but that doesn’t suggest we “leave them behind.” By honoring them in our own way, we carry them with us. Allow the month of March to give you another opportunity to shout her name and acknowledge her part in Women’s History.
May you find comfort in sharing what makes her special. May you find hope and comfort in your grief. May she always be remembered. And may you continue to honor her.
I celebrate those women (and girls) in my life that have died. I honor those whom I have only met through stories shared with me. That’s why I wear green on March 8.
To learn more about Gilchrist Grief Counseling, visit gilchristcares.org/grief-counseling.