re: #283 Lidane

Seeing that photo of Joe Biden at his son’s funeral makes me think of this. I read it this morning and cried, and it’s been on my mind all day:

[Embedded content]

Wow, that is beautiful… and triggering. My late husband has been gone for more than a decade now but that had me sobbing like his loss was like a month ago. Some things are just never entirely recovered from and you will never be the same person again. I especially related to what she said about the things people say that they sincerely hope will be comforting - they aren’t - and it takes every bit of self control you can muster to not scream. I knew my friends and family meant well and had the best intentions but I ultimately walked away from most of them because it took just too much energy to maintain the brave face they were, in reality, demanding of me with their ongoing platitudes. The pressure was on me to make them feel comfortable. It was emotionally exhausting.

I didn’t intend to carry on. I will suggest to everyone to think about what she said when next you are with someone who is grieving. It’s a difficult place to be in and she offers a lot of wisdom.