Lantern Festival

 

My daughter has had to deal with some hard things in this life. I don't know how to help her with it all, but I try. The main this I do to try to make sure she knows her feelings are valid. Last weekend, one of the things we did together to try help her was go to a water lantern festival. 

With our entry tickets, we were each given a paper lantern to decorate. We each chose a quote to write on them and what to draw. When the ceremony began, we released our lanterns in the water and watched them float away. It was calming and freeing to do this as meditative music played over the speakers. When she was ready to go, we left. 

I don't know if this helped her. I hope it  gave her some closure. I know it helped me clear my mind even though I didn't realize it would benefit me in any way.