For Redditors who lost a parent or someone very close to them… how are you right now?
I lost three of my grandparents. My paternal grandfather died before I was born. My maternal grandfather died when I was in middle school after years of illness, and my paternal grandmother died when I was in high school (unexpected death).
I’ve seen grief before, but nothing like seeing my father after his mother died. It genuinely felt like a piece of him disappeared forever. Even now yeaaaars later, that missing piece never really came back. And he says it all the time: “Nothing's like losing your mother. If your mother is gone, your life changes forever.” He still has a family around him, wife and kids, friends and ppl who care about him, yet no one will fill the emptiness i guess ? I remember about a week after she died, there was a family gathering at her house. My father came back devastated. He said he kept seeing her shadow in every room, every corner of the house. When he closed his eyes, he saw her everywhere.
That was years ago. He’s functioning now, he laughs, he lives his life… but the part of him that changed never fully healed...never, maybe, also cuz he's growing older?
So I wanted to ask people here:
How old were you when you lost your parent or someone/relative very close to you?
How did you cope?
How did it change you?
How are you doing nowadays?
What advice would you give younger ppl or just ppl who still have their parents around?
And if you could see them again ( even for one hour)… what would you say?
Sorry if this reopened wounds for some of you, i genuinely hope y'all okay and you can let it all out here.