How long does it take to move on?
When does the sun start shining again? When does the gray go away?
I know we’re all different, but there must be a point where we all exhale from the sadness and start to feel more like our old selves again, right? Right.
Cancer survivors have told me how scared they were once their doctors told them it was time to get back to living. They didn’t have to come in for scans, they could go back to their internist for general health issues and check-ups and it was a scary thought. Cutting the cord to their oncologist was good news and yet it petrified them.
For loved ones, once the mourning eased, grief counselors would say, “time to start living again.” Easy to say, not so easy to do.
Taking those first steps back into the world for both these groups is a test of courage.
It’s doable. So many of us in this community have done it, or are in the middle of doing it and we know cancer survivors who are slowly getting back into life day by day.
We’ve got to be brave. AGAIN. Once upon a time, this would have been a piece of cake…..come on….follow me!!!
July 8, 2013 @ 6:05 pm
My goodness…your posts are often so timely it scares me! I feel like I have made some steps forward in the last few months but it scares me. I don’t want to let go because I’m afraid I will forget yet I can’t stay in the world of complete grief forever. It is a real tug of war right now.
July 8, 2013 @ 5:19 pm
Brave… Phew.. I just want to breath again. Take that sigh of relief and let it all out! I have moved, lost Neil, moved and started over and have now moved again. Just got word from another company that my resume is great, but not a fit for what they are looking for. Looking at another company and they say one needs a four year degree…At 59, I doubt that will happen any time soon. I could cry today…I feel more alone than I have felt in a long time. I am now living with some amazing friends but my dogs are uprooted, I am uprooted, I can’t find anything I need, it’s probably in a storage shelter and yet…I am here. I made it this far and I look back at where I came from and I even amaze myself.
I am not feeling sorry for myself, it’s just the circumstance of what happened 5 1/2 years ago. I’m telling myself, this is it. My kids are here, my grand daughter will be here any day. I am hoping when I see that new life I will be able to breath again. This circle I have traveled has come to a stop…
I’ve learned so much along the way, I can pass on that wisdom when I see it fits or I can just give a hug. I have seen so much heartache, so much sadness and so much pain. We all have here. Laurie, I thank God for you and Leroy all the time. So many of us wouldn’t have known where to go, what to do or even how to do it. Brave…every one who has ever entered this garden is brave. So here’s to all our hero’s, those fallen and those still with us, to us care givers… Pay it forward, the very life you save will be your own.
July 8, 2013 @ 6:07 pm
Laurie…you are an incredibly brave and strong person and you will be settled in a new job in Kansas in no time. Maybe you are meant to enjoy that baby for a little while before you do the job and house thing!