I like to think of the “burning” as their memory flickering away forever. When the person first passes, the fire burns, because the pain is so intense, simply coping is a struggle.

As time goes on though, the fire starts to diminish, because life does move on. You never forget about the person, you do more remembering than grieving. That is the memory of them flickering inside. Always there, but the pain is not as intense as it once was.

Very sorry to hear about your friend. Thank you for reading.

In any case, I’m glad I read your article. The way you describe your father illustrates how a loss like this means more. It means So. Much. More. Thanks for sharing, John.

It’s funny you mentioned bringing over a casserole-one of the things I remember most was the ridiculous amount of food we had in the fridge in the days following. The gesture from friends was unexpected, and was appreciated beyond belief.

It is always comforting to see the strongest struggle with grief. Watching my father deal with the loss of his children allowed me to see him less as a man, and more like a dad, saddled with emotions like everyone else. It took something like this to break through to him, but it was better than his being unable to express for his entire life.

It is amazing how many people have said they have had a similar situation to the one Joe Philbin (or even me) have dealt with. Its kind of like therapy to talk about it, with the Packers connection to it.

That said the extended grieving is hard on the kids that are still around.

Nothing fun about this situation.

Well Done

Thank you very much for reading

Hopefully they are able to cope. Sometimes coping can be just as difficult if not more than the loss of the loved one.