Here is the final thing that helps: Give yourself
permission to feel good again.

So many grieving partners carry a secret guilt. How
dare I laugh? How dare I enjoy a meal? How dare I take a trip without them?

But here is the truth the long-married eventually learn:
Loving someone does not end when they die. It just changes rooms. And the
person you were with would almost certainly not want you to stop living.

So,  laugh at the
silly joke. Eat the dessert. Book the trip you always talked about – even if
you go alone.

That is not betrayal. That is carrying their Love forward.

Grief in the second half of life is not something you get
over. It is something you get through – with honesty, with small rituals, with
surprising friends, and with permission to become yourself again.

You are not alone. And you are allowed to take all the time
you need.

Originally Published on https://boomersnotsenior.blogspot.com/

Royce Shook Blogger

I served as a teacher, a teacher on Call, a Department Head, a District Curriculum, Specialist, a Program Coordinator, and a Provincial Curriculum Coordinator over a forty year career. In addition, I was the Department Head for Curriculum and Instruction, as well as a professor both online and in person at the University of Phoenix (Canada) from 2000-2010.

I also worked with Special Needs students. I gave workshops on curriculum development and staff training before I fully retired