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Edit avatar · **Re: Grieving the lost of a foreclosed home -** February 6th 2022, 10:28 PM

Hi there! First of all, I want to say I am so sorry you haven't gotten any response to this. I can tell how upset you are by the loss of your childhood home, and how much harder it was made because you barely had any time to process it and were unable to collect any of your belongings. This would be upsetting to just about anyone, so I really do sympathize with you!

I want to share my story with you. I never lost a home due to foreclosure, but I had a childhood home that I was very much attached to when my parents decided to sell it. Even though my sister and I were grown adults — my sister had moved out a few years earlier and I was still living at home — my parents were ready to cut ties with the house, and move closer to the beach.

I thought occasional drive-by's of the area would be helpful when we visited for family obligations; but as it turns out, it was not helpful at all. It gave me the same feelings you are right now. I was angry and sad. I would think about all the time I spent in different rooms, and how other people — people I barely knew — were using the very spaces I grew up in!

What helped was setting boundaries; and this works in any scenario, not just trying to move on from a beloved home. It's great you have the pictures and your memories will never fade, but it's important to know that's a part of your past now. You have the rest of your life ahead of you. You have university, you probably have friends. The point is, there are other things in the present that are more worth your time.

If you want, you can talk to your family about it or a bereavement counselor. If neither sounds like a great idea to you, then perhaps one of your friends from university or from the neighborhood you grew up in, if you're still in contact with them?

I really don't have any better advice to give and I wish I did. I know it's been a few months, but I hope you see this.