A New Normal

     One thing I have really struggled with lately is people thinking we should be 'back our normal selves' now that some time has passed.  What most people don't realize is that we will never be the same people we were before.  We are will be forever changed by our experience.  It drives me crazy that so many people think everything should be as it was before.  Losing a child changes you in ways that I can't even begin to define here.
    I really hope everyone can accept me as I am now and not expect me to be like I was before.  I think and feel differently about so many things.  I am not the same person I was 8 months ago.  I think grief makes people uncomfortable, especially if they haven't had to deal with it and don't understand it.  They expect us to move on as quickly as possible and try to 'forget' this awful thing that happened to us.  But, that is not how it works.  Grief is something we have to go through and feel.  It is completely normal and necessary.  It is not something that can be repressed.
    Please let me go through this and try to be understanding.  I am trying to reach my 'new normal'.