I’ve been a widower since April 12, 2018. That’s the date my wife died. We had been married since 1974. That’s a long time.
Sometimes I feel like she died yesterday. The memories are still very fresh. Just this week, I attended the funeral of a friend’s wife in the very chapel where my sweetheart’s memorial service was held.
I was caught off guard by the flood of emotion that swept over me. It is as if I could see myself along with my children sitting in the pew where my friend and his family sat. It seemed unreal.
At other times it is as if my late wife has been gone forever. When I add the length of time since her death with the number of years she battled cancer, I can barely remember when we had a normal life.
The old normal was nearly a decade ago. I hate the term “new normal.” I dislike the phrase because there is nothing normal about it.
Regardless, life goes on. If you’re struggling like me, hang in there. We can make it through today and tonight. And like the character Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, we can worry about tomorrow then. After all, tomorrow is another day.
The Survival Blog for Widowers 