So, normal service has resumed…. Which begs the question, what is ‘normal’?

I used to think my life was pretty normal – get up, sort the children out, go to work, housework, dinner, sleep and repeat. On my days off, I’d put on a nice frock, if I was lucky, pop out for lunch, and on Friday’s I would go jiving.

For many, this is the kind of normality that most people complain about. The normality that you take for granted until that is taken away, or altered completely.

For me, my ‘normality’ changed with the premature death of my Father, on the 4th February 2015. He was 68 years old. Dad was taken a little poorly, was sent for some tests and by the time he was taken to hospital, a period of 7 weeks had passed. He died 2 weeks later.

As anyone who has lost a parent or loved one knows, The grief can be immense. For me, the nightmare had only just begun.

Whilst looking after the funeral arrangements, contacting friends and family, letting the Government (and 101 other departments) know, I was dealing with my own grief, my family’s grief, work, life and even simple things like food shopping and housework took a back seat.

This became my normal for around a month. After the funeral,I naively expected things to get back to normal…

But that’s where I was wrong. Because the normal will never be the same.

Going to make that phone call, and Realising you can’t. Hearing a song on the radio, which brings back memories. Getting letters addressed to that person. Worrying more about my remaining parent… how they are coping, if they are sleeping/eating, making sure they aren’t overdoing things… And a hundred other things.

Those things are now the normality. And you know what? It’s what families do!

As they say in Lilo and Stitch: “Ohana means Family. Family means nobody gets left behind”