Before we lost our children, there were things we simply believed.
We would watch them grow older. We would have more time. Our future would have them in it.
We didn’t think of those things as assumptions. We thought of them as our lives.
There’s a concept called the “assumptive world”, the beliefs and expectations we carry about how life works. A profound loss can shake that entire foundation.
Learning about this gave me words for something I’ve felt since losing David. Even familiar things can feel different when the person you expected to share them with is missing.
If you’ve wondered why you don’t feel like yourself, or why the world feels less safe, perhaps this gives you words for it, too.
You’re carrying an enormous absence while trying to find your footing in a life you never expected.
You don’t owe anyone the person you were before. There is room for who you are now, who you are still becoming, and the love for your child that comes with you.
What is something you wish people understood about how your world has changed? 🤍