Re-Entry After Grief: Who Am I Now That The Storm Has Passed?

It’s been a week since my widowhood anniversary and a few days since I poured my heart into that letter to my past self. And now, I find myself standing in the quiet space that follows the storm. Not shattered, not fully healed—just….different. Re-entry is strange. It’s like trying to return to a life that no longer fits the version of me who survived it all.

Grief anniversaries come in waves—

First the build-up. Then the emotional crash. And then comes this moment…the in between before the next normal begins.

This is the part no one really prepares you for:

The days where you try to “get back” to routine, to work, to socializing—but you feel like you’ve been rewired.

I don’t want to go back to who I was before May 15th. I want to move forward as who I am now—softer, stronger, and more self aware. But that takes time. It takes grace. It takes learning to be gentle with myself.

In this re-entry, I’ve realized:

• I need more quiet than I used to

• My boundaries are sacred now

• Not everyone will understand my journey—and that’s okay

• I don’t have to rush back into productivity to prove I’m healing

I’m not “bouncing back.” I’m building forward.

One slow morning at a time.

One choice to show up—for myself and my kids—at a time.

One reminder that even now, even here, I am still becoming.

To anyone trying to re-enter life after a hard season—I see your strength. You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to explain. You get to come back on your own terms. And if you’re anything like me, you’re not coming back as the same woman…you’re coming back as a wiser one.

—La 💙