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t m c ยป p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 7 /ja n 2 0 1 8 12 12 fruit cocktail cake and macaroni salad. "It was always my husband, my dad and me for the holidays," Valverde said. "My dad was a quiet person. He just wanted to eat. Once he was done eating, he was ready to go home." But the Christmas following her father's death I t's hard to ignore the festive decorations designed to spread holiday cheer. Advertisements remind us that the holidays are a time for families to celebrate traditions and make memories, but for those mourning the loss of a loved one, the holidays can be difficult. For Sylvia Valverde, a retired Houston Independent School District administrator and Houston Hospice volunteer, the 2016 holiday season was punctuated by heart-wrenching sadness and sorrow. Valverde's father, Eradio, passed away on June 6, 2016, three days after his 85th birthday. He had suf- fered multiple strokes since 1993 and was confined to a wheelchair after the death of his wife in 2003. In March 2016, after experiencing another stroke and a major seizure, he was admitted to Houston Hospice. He remained there until he died peacefully in his sleep. In the years before her father's death, Valverde would prepare an annual Christmas feast. Part of the tradition in her household was to make her mother's wasn't filled with the happy tranquility that usually permeated their home. There was a void in Valverde's heart and she needed to grieve. After all, Valverde and her husband had looked after her father every single day for 13 years, feeding him, clothing him, taking him to church and doctors' appointments. She had grown so attached to him as his caregiver that, after his death, she didn't feel like she was losing a father, but rather that she was losing a child. "Last year was difficult. My husband's family invited us [for the holidays]. I went, but I didn't stay the whole time. I just couldn't. It just didn't feel right," Valverde said. "I just came home, laid on my bed and cried, missing [my dad] and wishing he was here." Earlier that year, though, Valverde attended Houston Hospice's annual holiday seminar, "An Empty Place at the Table," dedicated to helping family members cope during the holiday season. The seminar An Empty Place at the Table A Houston Hospice seminar helps individuals grieve the loss of loved ones during the holidays B y S h a n l e y C h i e n Houston Hospice volunteer Sylvia Valverde held on to her father's Bible and glasses after he passed away at Houston Hospice in June 2016. Valverde, a retired Houston Independent School District administrator, holds a framed photograph of her father, Eradio, at Houston Hospice. Valverde attended Houston Hospice's annual seminar to help her cope with his loss during the holidays.