The coronavirus pandemic may be the greatest loss my teenager has ever experienced.

Loss of routine, loss of connection, loss of an entire Spring sports season, loss of social time with friends—all the laughter, the face to face interaction, spontaneous silliness.

Next it will be the loss of summertime as it is supposed to be.

Yes.

Staying home and social distancing is important. Necessary. Good.

And yes.

My child is lucky. Healthy. Well fed. Loved. And Safe.

It could always be worse. I know.

But grief is not a competition.

And I can see that my teenager is grieving.

This is the worse loss so many of our kids have ever experienced.

Grief is whatever someone says it is.

Everyone’s grief is their own.

And the truth is, our children’s world has been forever changed.

They are grieving.

Let’s make space for them to feel it.