A few days ago my daughter and I landed at JFK after traveling through four countries in Europe. It was a wonderful trip, a beautiful time reconnecting with family, meeting ones we had never met, and bonding with one another.

My husband met up with us for a week of Paris and London, his arrival was the icing on the cake for our daughter!

The trip was both magnificent and educational for my daughter. She was able to practice her Farsi with family, pick up some Italian and French, as well as learn a bit more about art and history by visiting museums. I am fully aware of how fortunate we are to be able to travel.

Yet, returning home was bittersweet. I have always been able to count on my parents for both the big and little things in life such as picking us up at the airport. When we landed I found myself searching the airport for my father’s face, but he was not there, and it hit me that he will never be there for us again. We took a cab home, my mother was always the first who would call when we returned home from vacation, this time, our house was silent. She too would never be there to call me again, a devastating realization. Needless to say it was a rough first day home, I turned in early. The next day I decided to put my focus on my vegetable garden, because being in nature always makes me feel peaceful and close to my source. I collected an abundant amount of herbs and vegetables from my garden.

I found myself smiling and having a feeling of abundance. I felt relief and joy which lasted for a bit but then the wave of sadness came back. Right then, I had an awakening, I knew that I would always experience waves of sadness. And like always, I knew that I would always fight it by looking on the brighter side of life, the same way my parents survived all that they lost.

If you have feelings of sadness taking over, just know that you are not alone, things will get better, you will be ok. Just keep on moving forward doing things that bring you joy and help someone else. We rise by lifting others.