Tag Archives: grieving

Two Months

This weekend was two months since Larry died after his year-and-a-half battle with cancer.   It’s still hard to deal with and reckon with.   To allow myself to really let it sink in just brings in the emotions and tears, which happens quite a lot still.  This past week was notably more painful for some vague unknown reason – Fran had the same heightened emotions as I did.  Maybe it’s just that it’s been two months, and it is not a temporary thing, like he’s just been gone back east and I had to stay here.   There’s no un-doing of what happened.  Larry has died and I am alive to deal with the fact that he is absent from the world.  I am talking with a therapist one-on-one every week or so, and later this year, I hope to be joining a therapy group for people who’ve lost spouses.  These things are all good and necessary, but they don’t undo the fact that the love of my life is gone.  I tell myself frequently that he’s free from suffering, which helps me to cope, but what I really want is to believe that somehow his presence is still around us, in some way.   He’s in my heart, I know that.  He’s not forgotten.   But it would make me feel better to know he’s some kind of angel or ghost.  I don’t know why that would matter – maybe it’s to know that maybe he’s able to be happy when I do something he liked.  It wouldn’t feel so empty.

I am trying to make things work for me here in reality.  I’ve been fairly proud of myself in attempting to cook meals much more fancy than I ever would have pre-Larry.  They’re not fine cuisine, but still, I cooked a filet mignon yesterday and that is pretty cool, right?   Cooking has been the thing that for me is what makes me feel closest to Larry, so I’m not keen on stopping.  I have his recipes that he used to make all the time, and I’m going to dive into those.  The Instapot has been amazing too, and Nicki got me a Mediterranean Instant pot cookbook that has some delicious-looking recipes I can’t wait to try.   If the coronavirus doesn’t kill us all.   That’s another thing – I am honestly glad Larry isn’t around in his weakened condition during this pandemic scare – I hope it ends up not being a complete disaster, but it’s impact probably isn’t going to be minimal, regardless.   And with a compromised immune system, if he had gotten coronavirus and that would have been the factor that caused his death, I’d be even more devastated than I already am.

So yeah, I’m just trying my best to make him proud, and to make myself not hole up and surrender.   I’ve been doing a Yoga program on Youtube (Yoga with Adriene – I LOVE IT) every morning and I do feel better doing these things – notably in my lower back, as I think it’s helped undo a lot of the tension-building the last 43 years of my life have stored.  We’ll see.  I’m also trying to be up for going or doing whatever friends are suggesting, within reason.  It’s been good to get out.

This week is tough as it’s when we move mom into the new home.  It’s for the best, and will give some peace of mind.  But I just need a fucking break.  But I don’t think one is coming.   C’est la vie. In the meantime, here are some pics from the last week or so with friends and at home.  Enjoying life as best I can.   Larry is never out of my mind and I miss him so fucking much.  Sometimes it makes me smile, but a lot of times it just makes me sad and cry.

Pot Roast – March 3:

Firefly dinner with Barb – March 6:

Seeing “Couples Therapy” comedy show at The Virgil with Nicki – March 7:

Just Sunday – March 8:

A Nice Weekend

I’ve discovered I can start crying at the drop of a hat.  Okay, to be more specific, grieving for me can be “okay one minute – absolutely crestfallen the next.”  It’s obviously what grief is in terms of a definition, but it just can take a lot out of you.  This morning, I woke up and just started crying, and that was because I started just thinking about all the things that have happened or are happening in my life, and it just made me sad and anxious.  I have to trust that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but right now, it’s all tunnel.

Why am I writing that?   Just that when nice things happen, it’s good to enjoy them, as I can find myself very easily in the midst of crying.   So this past weekend, it got started out right by having dinner with Carey & Paras at the Sugarfish in Hollywood.  As I’ve raved previously, Sugarfish is the shit.  The best sushi around especially at the price point you get it at.

The key is to get there a little ahead of the rush – we got seated around 5:45, which was perfect.   When we left around 7, the waiting area was packed, and since Sugarfish doesn’t do reservations, you gotta wait.  We then headed down the street to Arclight to see The Gentlemen.   I had barely heard of this Guy Ritchie movie, and let me tell you, it’s fucking awesome.   An exciting and compelling crime story with a bunch of movie stars having a blast.  If, like me, you’d never heard of it before, by all means go check it out.  Fun stuff.  Hugh Grant is so far from his typical “Hugh Grant”-ness it’s mind-blowing.

Jan 31 Night at Sugarfish and Arclight with Carey & Paras:

On Saturday, I went over to visit mom for the first time since going with her to Helen’s for Christmas Eve.  I brought the wedding album I’d put together and she was able to remember all of that and the things we did then, and she managed to remember Larry had died, but it’s just not the same person.  Stacie and I are going to have to look to find a place for her to live, such as independent or assisted living as it just can’t continue on with how it is now, as it’s no way to live.  So on the way back home, I just wanted to try to make Larry proud, so I picked up filet mignons (enough for 3 people) and potatoes and broccoli, as I invited Nicki and Sveta over for dinner.  Everybody pitched in to help make dinner, and we ended up having medium-rare filets, baked potatoes, and roasted garlic broccoli.  It was fucking great.  Ended up mostly just talking that night, although I keep wanting to play “Ticket to Ride”, the actual board game. One day.

Feb 1 Filet Mignon Night with Nicki & Sveta:

On Sunday, I endeavored to try to start the process of cleaning up some of Larry’s stuff.  As it is now, I can’t even touch his clothes or shoes, whether they’re in the closet or on the dresser.  It hurts too much to think about it and the tears, as explained above, come like clockwork.  So I thought I’d take it easy on myself and just try to clear out some of the bathroom pills and such.  Well, I did manage to clear out stuff that probably Larry should have thrown out long ago, as well as remove excess stuff.   Still couldn’t get rid of things like his glasses though.  It’s not like I can even wear his glasses as my head is too big for his frames; nor can I wear his pants or shoes, so it makes sense that I should probably work on those to go.  But it’s just, I don’t think I can bear to have the closet half empty, or the drawers only filled on my side, as right now, I’m not triggered when I walk into my bedroom.  There’s something comforting about his stuff being there still.  But as I type this with tears in my eyes, I know I have to start bracing myself for that, and maybe I have friends with me when I do, but I don’t even know if that will help.  Fuck all of this.

Yes, I’ve begun the process of seeing a therapist.  She’s come over to the house a few times, and it’s still been an assessment period, so I think the next time would be truly the first session?  But these first few times have felt like a way to talk about these things I’m feeling and I guess it helps.  I just want to see if the tunnel ends.

Later on Sunday, Nicki kept me company while we watched the Super Bowl.  Still don’t really care about it, but at least the game was interesting and the commericals were okay.  The half time show was awesomesauce: