tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6918105604270007470.post2908043959287994958..comments2023-10-09T15:47:14.355-04:00Comments on And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?: More Holiday Stuff, Part 3 (?)Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18241931590875029855noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6918105604270007470.post-44440232456342801242009-11-21T18:22:35.773-05:002009-11-21T18:22:35.773-05:00Numbness is a remarkable anesthetic, isn't it?...Numbness is a remarkable anesthetic, isn't it? My initial shock and numbness lasted for about 3 1/2, almost 4 months...right up til the beginning of November. The first thing that really started piercing through the haze and that really, deeply hurt like hell was when I went to a "Strategies for Coping with the Holidays" thing at the local hospital, for those who are recently bereaved. And I remember the tears just started streaming down my face as a I sat and listened, had to really face and realize for the first time that I wouldn't have to be attending any of this if it hadn't really happened, if he wasn't <i>really</i> dead. <br /><br />Subsequent holidays weren't necessarily harder than that first year of Thanksgiving and Christmas...but I wasn't numb for them the first time around either. I totally get how this year can be so much harder for you. Hang in there and do the best you can. Skip class as much as you need to, make plans you can cancel (and have backup plans just in case), and be as open and honest as you can that this year's holidays are really, really hard for you. Spend them with people who understand and with whom you don't have to pretend and fake it when you're dying inside. <br /><br />This too shall pass. Fortunately and unfortunately, this really awful part is only 6-7 weeks long. Which is a helluva long time to have to grit your teeth and suffer through it, but at least it does get (relatively speaking) better in the beginning of January.<br /><br />Hugs and lots of love, my friend. xoxoCandicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11637366044613952294noreply@blogger.com