@gratia
Hello:
In response to your query, how can you keep it together and start over when this ends?
I can only speak from my sister's point of view who lost her husband to cancer in her early 60s.
She went through stages after my brother-in-law passed, just like we are. There was the expected sadness, and tons of crying; she does retail therapy and has been buying things she probably doesn't need (but it makes her feel good).
She took a lover to combat loneliness and started getting out and enjoying her life again. She got two cats and enjoys spoiling them. She's traveled overseas and domestically several times. She lavishes attention on her garden and has created a visual paradise. She writes about her feelings and blogs.
Anyway, my sister has just carried on, recreating herself in her new, single life and is still sad, but carries on.
I try to imagine what life will be like on the flip side, but there are so many unknowns I need a crystal ball.
Something that was said in a grief class I took, is that we are all becoming new people. The way we respond to our loved ones, and how we manage has changed us.
What shall we become today?
Hugs all around. ☺️