06/02/2026
One of the hardest days in grief isn't the funeral.
It isn't the first holiday.
It isn't even the anniversary.
It's the day everyone stops asking how you're doing.
At first, there are cards. Phone calls. Text messages. People bringing food. People checking in. People telling you they're there if you need anything.
And for a little while, it feels like the world understands that something devastating has happened.
Then life starts moving again.
The cards stop coming.
The phone stops ringing.
The invitations become less frequent.
The world slowly returns to normal.
For everyone...except you.
That's when the reality starts settling in.
That's when you realize they're not coming home.
That's when you reach for your phone to call them.
That's when you hear good news and remember there's no one to tell.
That's when the house feels really empty.
The weird thing is that most of us feel lonelier at six months than we did at six days.
Not because people stopped caring.
Because people assume we're doing better.
But grief doesn't disappear because time passes.
It just becomes less visible to everyone else.
But just because people stopped asking doesn't mean your grief is over.
It means everyone else just went back to their normal way of life.
And you're still learning how to live in a world that looks the same but feels completely different.
And that takes time…a lot of time.
Gary Sturgis
Author: ‘SURVIVING GRIEF – 365 Days A Year’
