
You get condolences of all kinds, from texts, phone calls, and sympathy cards in the mail. After hearing it so much, it begins to feel impersonal. Second, sorry for your loss may be hard to hear because everyone says it. Who will you call when you have car trouble in the middle of the night? Who is going to be the glue to hold the family together now? These are just some realities that may flood your mind and make losing a loved one seem so final when someone says, ‘Sorry for your loss.' A harsh reality and void are there, and you have no idea how it will be filled. In addition, there will be no more holidays spent together laughing and baking together, sincere hugs and kisses, or fishing trips with them. There will be no more smiles, no phone calls to check up on us, and no words of advice when we need guidance from them. When someone says ‘sorry for your loss,' it means that a person we have loved and cared for dearly has been taken away and will not return. Many of us spend weeks in denial, as if we are waiting to wake up from a bad dream. First, it makes the loss of a loved one seem so final. The words ‘sorry for your loss' may be hard to hear for many reasons.

The time after a funeral can be compared to cleaning up after a natural disaster like a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake.

That is until the memorial services are over, and you are dealing with the aftermath. Your life is filled with so much activity and demands in the process that it leaves you with little to no time to process what has happened. The time from their departure from this life until the final arrangements have been made can come so fast.

No one wants to grasp the reality that their loved one will no longer be seen anymore. How close you were to the deceased, their age, unfinished business between you, and how the departure of life all came about can make their departure difficult to accept. One of the most challenging times we will ever go through in our lives are the days following the loss of a loved one.
