The fatigue of grief is fucking staggering.

“Guilt. I’ve seen this so many times. She hasn’t visited her for years. Now she’s here acting like she can’t live without her mother. It’s bullshit, Cat,” he said. And I knew he was right.

My entire life’s purpose, keeping Mom alive and happy, was for nothing. All those years I spent focusing on her, all the time I spent orienting my every thought and action toward what I thought would please her most, were pointless. Because now she’s gone.

Perhaps a loved one died six months ago. The rest of the world assumes you’ve moved on, when the reality is that the shock of your loss has only begun to wear off and your grief has just set in.