The "shiv'a"

Day 1623 - there are some serious benefits coming out of this "shiva"; the main one bonding of the family. For hours we stay at home so naturally we talk and learn more about the other's life and we remember what it means to be a family in bad times as well as in good times. We got to meet some interesting people and find interesting contact points, and by the end of the day everyone is so exhausted that you just fall asleep, which without all this might be difficult. My mom is on adrenaline right now and talks to everyone, and tells stories but I know that this new reality did not sink in yet, it probably will start donning on her after the "shiva" when the house will be empty and everyone gone. The emptiness and the stillness will be in sharp contrast. I hope she will be able to find her own place as an individual after living as a couple for almost 55 years. I hope she'll be ok. And in the mean time my dad's absence is felt everywhere and it doesn't seem real that he is dead, that he is not here anymore. It's so sad!!