From: The Universe

To: Your Friend Experiencing The First Days of Life Without Their Person

“Hey there, you just had one of the most difficult challenges of life hit you over the head and you are now likely experiencing extreme waves of emotion, shock and grief. Now, you have about 2-3 days to coordinate the saddest party you’ll ever attend, maybe a few of them actually. You’ll have to make sure the guests are aware of the date, time and location, round up (AND PAY FOR) food, snacks, drinks, napkins, plates, probably some music, maybe even a singer or musician, etc. Soon, nearly everyone person who cares about you and your person who recently passed away, will all be in the same place at the same time and you will have to speak to just about every. single. one.

Before the gathering you’ll pick out a nice outfit, likely something black (tres, chic). Make sure to wear your dress shoes that suck the least because you’re about to stand on your feet for multiple hours in a row. While standing, many, many people will kindly share their condolences to you and your family. You will be expected to graciously accept their kindness, force yourself to smile, make a lot of small talk, expend mental energy trying to play it cool when you aren’t sure of someone’s name, etc. because you are the host. Then, you will move on to part two of this sorrow soirée to memorialize and bury one of the people you love most in the world, but will never be able to see again.

Following the burial you will be on the minds of many. They will make it their mission to ensure you do not go hungry, maybe offer to run a few of your errands, will think lots of empathetic thoughts for you and pray for your ‘strength and healing.’ This will last for about 14 consecutive days. After two weeks, you will still hear from some of people every few days, then every few weeks, but you will mostly rely on the handful of people around you who you trust the most. Everyone outside of that circle will carry on with their lives and get back to their normal.

Now it’s your turn to do that too! However, quick heads up, it’s going to be a lot trickier for you. You will never return to your (old) normal and understanding your new normal is going to take a hell of a lot longer than 14 days.. but you’ll get there. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, you will. Best of luck and ‘let me know if you need anything.’ ” - The Universe