My husband passed away 1/26/17

[Rorey]

39. I am so sorry for your loss of your husband.

Please don't feel guilty about not always answering the phone. You're so sweet to be thinking about your sister's feelings. Just don't forget to take care of your own feelings.

When my previous husband died I decided the best thing I could do for at least awhile was to nurture myself, and it has helped me to deal with subsequent losses also. You have just been through an awful lot with the diagnosis, treatment and then the loss of your husband. And now your whole life has changed. Take your own time to deal with the changes. Maybe you could ask one of your children to gently explain to your sister that you just need some time, and assure her that you do appreciate that she wants to support you, but you also need to by yourself. That's a difficult concept for a lot of people to understand.

Some people do like to be surrounded by others when a loss happens. Personally, I have never been that way. I wanted solitude so I could process. It's your right to do things your own way.

I will say that one great thing about today's technology is that you can send a short text when you feel like it rather than have to return phone calls that you don't feel like returning.