We’re not always going to be able to anticipate or predict the things that take place in our lives. One second, life may be a certain way. And on the next second, your world can be completely turned on its own head. Life can really change within the blink of an eye. Every single thing that is keeping you happy and vital can just cease to exist in an instant. And you will be left to work with whatever is left. That’s the way life works.
Even something that you have been working on for such a long time can all just come crumbling down in an instant; hereby forcing you to start over from scratch. And sometimes, sadly enough, the people you love the most in the world could still be here today and be completely gone on the next. That’s just a sad reality about the world that we must all learn to accept.
And one of the most heartbreaking aspects of loss is that you might never really know how to appreciate something until it’s gone. You might not really know how great you have it until you’re forced to live in another way. You might not ever realize just how happy a single person can make you until that person is taken away. And that’s a kind of sorrow that has victimized a lot of people since the dawn of time.
You have to accept the fact that it’s perfectly possible that you will lose your parents one day. And that day can come at any time without prior notice. Sometimes, you will be able to brace for it. Other times, it can hit you like a sucker punch. And here are a few things that you can expect will happen when you do lose a parent.
1. You will come to understand why family should always come first.
You will really come to learn what they mean when they say that family should always come first. You will understand that whatever time you get to spend with your family is precious. And none of it is ever going to be enough. You’re always going to want more especially once they’re gone.
2. You won’t have the strength to function properly for a while.
You won’t really have the strength or motivation to do anything in life for a while. For the longest time, your parents played the biggest part in shaping who you are. And now, they’re gone. That can be very paralyzing for anyone.
3. You will feel completely devastated and isolated.
You are going to feel completely devastated and alone at the thought of losing your parent. This is especially true if you don’t have any siblings with whom you can share your pain.
4. You won’t really feel comfortable listening to other people talking about their parents.
You will feel particularly uncomfortable whenever someone complains about how their parents might be annoying and such. You so desperately want to tell them that they shouldn’t complain because at least their parents are still around for them.
5. You will be jealous of people who still have their parents.
You are going to find yourself feeling jealous of the people who still have their parents there with them. You will desperately want your own parents to be back but you know that this is no longer a possibility for you. But you can’t help it. You still feel that jealousy within you.
6. You will realize that holidays will never be the same.
It can be very devastating whenever you lose a parent. But it can feel particularly heavy whenever the holidays come rolling in. Usually, people use the holidays as a time and a season to reconnect with family that they haven’t seen for a while. And you’re no longer going to get the chance to do so for the rest of your life.
7. You won’t be able to call them up with significant news even though you really want to.
Naturally, life goes on even after someone close to you has died. And as you make your way through life, important things are going to pop up here and there. When those important moments take place, you are going to instinctively reach out to your parents to share the news with them. But then you will realize that that opportunity is no longer afforded to you.
8. You will come to the realization that you took them for granted.
Even if you were the perfect poster child for your parent. Even if you spent as much time with them as you possibly could have. Even if you gave it all of your effort to just to make them happy, it’s never going to be enough. You will still end up feeling like you took them for granted. And that’s just the nature of the relationship between a parent and a child. You will always feel like you could have done more.
