today was the anniversary of the death of E’s 4-year-old son, after a rough battle with disease, and no support from either her so-called family or the medical profession.  as i’ve mentioned, this is a very difficult time of year for her.  while everyone is partying and celebrating, she’s still grieving a major loss, not to mention all the other emotional and financial blows she has suffered her whole life.  she’s slowly recovering, but she’ll always associate xmas with extreme loss and hatefulness.  thankfully, my family have shown her understanding and acceptance, which really helps.