Juggling Grief (and Everything Else)

Well… I did it again.
After weeks of carefully crafting emails, setting up automations, and generally working my ass off to promote something important — I hit send on the wrong list.

Instead of sending access details just to the wonderful widows who booked our Widows Connect retreat… I emailed it to everyone.

I mean… of course I did.

This moment was classic me — full of heart, full of good intention, and a little full of chaos.
But more importantly, it reminded me of something that most of us forget:

We’re all juggling more than anyone can see.

The emails. The grief. The kids. The job. The fact you can’t remember what day it is or where your keys are or if you’ve eaten.
We’re all carrying so much — silently, invisibly — while the world just keeps going.

Maybe you’re:

• Caring for elderly parents while grieving

• Struggling to return to work (or wondering if you ever want to)

• Parenting solo, without backup or pause

• Battling illness, exhaustion, or the weight of “holding it all together”

• Living inside a brain fog so thick you can’t remember your best friend’s name, let alone why you walked into the kitchen

It’s not just grief.
It’s grief on top of real life.
Stacked. Layered. Compounded.
And then we wonder why we’re tired.

I say this not as a therapist or guru.
I say this as a woman who once thought she wasn’t grieving properly because she felt numb, didn’t cry enough, and was just going through the motions.

After Andy died, I left a fast-paced creative career. I had nothing left to give it.
Instead, I found healing in yoga, in movement, in stillness — and eventually, I found myself.

That might sound neat and poetic, but trust me — it wasn’t.
It was messy and slow and very much involved a lot of lying on the floor not knowing what the hell to do next.

But over time, I realised something:
Your body knows how to help you heal.
If you let it.

You don’t have to “move on.” You don’t have to be “fine.”
But you can find a gentler way to be with all of it.
Even now. Even here.

And that’s what I try to share — through the work I do now.
Through Remember, our online space for ongoing widow support.
Through our in-person retreats in places like Spain — yes, there will be sunshine.
Through conversations, movement, breath, and connection.

I don’t have all the answers. But I have walked this road.
And if anything I’ve learned can help make the next step a little softer for you — then it’s worth every “oops” email and tech fail I make along the way.

You’re not doing it wrong.
You’re just doing a really hard thing.
And some of those balls you’re juggling?
You can set them down, even just for a minute.

You’re not alone.
Even when it feels like it.

With love,
Orla x

If this story resonates with you, I have other blogs that explore grief, parenting, love, and the chaos of being human. You can read more here, or if you’re looking for something gentle to hold you right now, download my free guided meditation here.

You can also sign up for my newsletter to stay connected, or check out what I’m offering at the moment that might support you in your own story of loss. You’re not alone—even when it feels like it.