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Bereavement

Find bereavement help and support from other Mumsnetters. See also your choices after baby loss.

My husband has died 2

232 replies

peachgreen · 23/11/2020 12:40

Just starting a new thread. Thank you so much for all the support you have given me so far. I honestly can't tell you how much it has helped. I've read and reread your posts in the middle of the night when I feel most alone and it has honestly and truly kept me alive at points. I'm so grateful.

Over the next two weeks I have what would have been our fifth wedding anniversary and Mike's 43rd birthday to get through. I'm dreading them. But I also want to mark them somehow. I think I might buy myself a watch to mark our anniversary, one featuring wood. I've also contacted a local jewellers - I'm going to get our wedding rings interlinked and made into a necklace so I can wear them always, no matter what happens in future.

This feeling of being married and yet not married, a wife and yet not a wife, is the strangest thing I've ever experienced. I feel half a person, like my purpose for living has gone. I'm carrying on for my daughter and I am finding some joy in her - especially as she gets more like her Daddy every day - but mostly I spend my days in a sort of disbelieving, numb haze. I keep expecting him to just walk back in the door and give me a big cuddle and tell me how well I've done and now we can get back to normal.

I miss him so, so much.

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Horsemad · 04/03/2021 09:42

Hi peach, was only thinking about you last night. 🙂

Good to hear your update and that things are 'ok'; I think returning to work will be helpful too.

I know everyone on here keeps saying this but you are doing brilliantly, you are so strong. Keep telling yourself this. Flowers

How is your brother doing?

petalpower · 08/03/2021 19:47

Glad to hear that you’re finding life more bearable. Lyla sounds like a great comfort to you.
Flowers

nitsandwormsdodger · 08/03/2021 20:00

I can recommend doing positive things to mark the occasions suggestions ( some I've done)
Volunteer so you are busy
Find a sponsored run on that day
Plant a tree
Bench dedication
Put lots of balloons sweets out as surprise for kids in the park
Give things of his to loved ones
His Coats to homeless
Suits to help homeless go for job interviews
Name a star after him
Random acts of kindness in his name

peachgreen · 14/03/2021 02:35

Mother's Day. This is a tough one. I keep thinking about how much he's missing out on. Lyla is growing up into the most wonderful little girl and it's absolutely heartbreaking that he's not here to see it. I want to share her with him, share the joy of her. Every funny or sweet little thing she says - it just makes me sick that he's missing it, and that she's missing him.

Every Mother's Day he got me the same kind of card - a montage of photos of Lyla. And he'd write a little letter in it as if it was from her, all about the things she loves about me. I'm so sad I won't get that tomorrow (although I know my lovely friends have sorted a card).

It's a silly day to be so upset over. We didn't ever really do anything, not least because Mike's mum died when he was in his 20s (from the same thing that killed him) and he found it a very hard day. But it still feels so wrong that he's not here.

Grief is weird. The waves are further apart now. But they are just as intense and awful. It rips me apart if I actually think about it, about not seeing him again, about Lyla growing up without him. I don't know how people do this, I really don't. I mean, I know I am doing it and so I guess I'll find out. But the idea of having to live my whole life without him is just... overwhelming.

I was ill recently, the first time since he died, and when I went in to see to Lyla in the middle of the night I collapsed - I didn't lose consciousness but I couldn't get up, I was too faint. I had to crawl through to get my phone, Lyla crying the whole time, and ring the friends I'm living with to come and rescue me. I've never longed for him so much. He would have tucked me in bed and stroked my hair until I fell asleep, cuddle me and told me everything would be okay. And the next day he would have got up with Lyla and let me sleep, brought me sweet tea and toast, just - loved me and cared for me.

This is another late night ramble, I'm sorry. But it really does help.

@horsemad thank you for asking about my brother. He is, thankfully, fine. They caught it in time with surgery and he doesn't even need any further treatment. One slight complication is that it looks like he may have a genetic condition that causes a predisposition to cancer. It's worse for women - women with it are often advised to have a hysterectomy to avoid ovarian or endometrial cancer. So I may have that decision to face in the future and it's a bit scary as I have already had two (benign) ovarian tumours removed so my chances were already increased. If Mike was still here we would try for a second baby and then I would have it done, no question. But now everything is so up in the air. I don't want to do ANYTHING that risks leaving Lyla alone. When I thought I was going to faint I had a horrible moment of thinking that I was having the same thing Mike had, sudden cardiac death, and I would leave her alone. It was awful. But also I don't know if I might want another child one day. Anyway, that's a problem for a future me. No point worrying about it now.

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Horsemad · 14/03/2021 08:27

Flowers for you @peachgreen. I hope you have the best Mother's Day you can under the circumstances.

That is good news indeed re your brother's surgery and hopefully he will continue to be checked out now.
As you say, some big decisions ahead for you possibly but try and live in the 'now' if you can.

Wishing you a lovely day with Lyla. ❤️

forgetthehousework · 23/03/2021 16:52

You are doing so well Peach, take care of yourself Flowers

peachgreen · 24/03/2021 15:23

Thanks for checking in @Horsemad and @forgetthehousework. Having a tough couple of weeks here, especially the last few days. I keep saying this but it's like reality is starting to kick in and the realisation that he's gone and never coming back is agonising. I'm so lonely without him - more than anything, even more than missing him as a coparent and a husband, I just miss him as a person, my best friend and the person I loved most in all the world. It feels unfathomable that he's not here any more and all the things he contributed to the world are just... gone. It's so strange and horrible.

And I'm just really, really tired. I'm tired of being without him and tired of trying to keep the pain under control and tired of talking about it and tired of NOT talking about it. I'm tired of everyone and everything else. I used to feel like this quite a lot, I'd get overwhelmed by everything and everyone and have to retreat to just Mike's company for an evening or so, and that would right me again and I'd be able to deal with the outside world. But now he's not here for me to retreat to and it's so bloody hard without him.

I feel completely adrift, really. Feels like I can't do this for much longer and yet I know I have to.

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Horsemad · 24/03/2021 20:08

Keep battling peach, just little steps each day. I think the reality kicking in that you mention is the shock wearing off - it's like a new pain all over again unfortunately and desperately unfair. 😥

peachgreen · 26/03/2021 12:04

I just wish I knew when - or if - things would get easier. I miss him so bloody much and going on feels so... joyless. Like I know why I have to - for Lyla - but I can't see any time in the future where missing him isn't the main thing in my life, where I'm not desperately longing for him. I just wish I had hope that things would be okay but I can't see how they can be, not without him.

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Identitytheftisnotajoke · 26/03/2021 22:43

It's been such a short time in the scheme of things Peach, although it must feel like a lifetime too. Keep being kind to yourself and take it a day at a time.

peachgreen · 28/03/2021 18:04

Five months today. I've dreamed about him 3 times this week, more than I had done in total before this. He's always dead in my dreams but sometimes I get to talk to him which is lovely. Last night he kept coming back to life for a few days or hours but then dying again. The feelings of anxiety and waiting for him to die took me right back to when he was in hospital and I'd be so anxious all the time waiting for him to message me or ringing the ward to see if he was okay. I honestly don't know how I got through it, or how I've got through any of this. But what I wouldn't give now to just get a message from him.

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Beetlebum1981 · 29/03/2021 00:00

I just came across this thread, I'm so sorry that you're feeling so horrendous, life is truly crap and unfair at times. I have no pearls of wisdom to offer but I'm here if you still need to chat.

wishing3 · 29/03/2021 00:09

Just wanted to say that I’m thinking of you having to go through this terrible pain, and rooting for you so much. Xxx

peachgreen · 29/03/2021 00:17

Thank you @Beetlebum1981 and @wishing3. This thread is such a comfort for me, even when it's quiet. It's just a place I can go to get the worst thoughts out in black and white which sometimes helps quiet them.

I can't really believe it's been almost half a year. The longest and hardest 5 months of my life. But I'm proud that I've at least made it through and I've found strength I never knew I had. I know he would be proud of me and that helps a little.

The future seems so bleak though. Hopefully with time I'll be able to see it as somehow exciting again, with possibilities. Right now it's just... empty.

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Horsemad · 29/03/2021 07:28

Hi peach, how is it 5 months already? 😥

I think dreaming is very common when we lose someone, I used to dream a lot when my dad died suddenly but many years on, it happens less frequently. I guess it's our brains processing stuff.

Try not to think too much about the future just yet; just do what's needed to get through this time.

Flowers
CheltenhamLady · 29/03/2021 18:39

You are such a strong lady and you will get through this, a day at a time x

Beetlebum1981 · 29/03/2021 21:10

How has today gone? Going through what you have must be so tough at the best of times but even more so at the moment - there are no distractions or even little things to look forward to.

peachgreen · 30/03/2021 00:34

Thank you for asking @Beetlebum1981 Flowers Today has been okay although I had a moment when DD asked me to read a particular book at bedtime which Mike used to read to her. I could hear his voice and struggled to keep it together but managed. Shethen woke up at 10 having got her leg stuck in her cot bars (it wasn't stuck, she was just half asleep!) and was very upset so I brought her downstairs for a cuddle. I definitely think I'm a more patient mum since Mike died and I have no idea why. But I'm glad I'm able to be.

@horsemad I know, I can't believe it either. It still feels so surreal and takes up so much of my brain space, awake and asleep. I dreamt of him again last night only this time he was alive but cheating on me (completely un-DH behaviour!). I woke up very upset, not so much about the dream but by the realisation that all DH's secrets died with him. Not that I think there were any bad things but just that I kept finding out new things about him all the time and I'm so sad there are things I'll never know now. I thought we would have so much more time. Even after he came home from hospital I knew there was something he wanted to tell me about his experience but he was too traumatised to do so just yet and so we agreed to work through it together with a counsellor. Now I'll never know what it was.

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peachgreen · 30/03/2021 01:34

I just don't understand how he can just not be here any more. It's killing me.

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coodawoodashooda · 30/03/2021 02:00

I'm so sorry peach.

peachgreen · 30/03/2021 15:53

Fuck. I miss him so much. I went on a "date" today - it wasn't really a date, it was a fellow widower I met via a support group who lives nearby - but it sort of was a date because we're both of the same age etc. And he was really nice, a perfectly nice person, but of course he wasn't Mike. And I wasn't expecting him to be but it just all felt so WRONG. When I met Mike it was like a thunderbolt, I knew immediately he was the one. There was no awkwardness, no anxiety, just absolute adoration from both sides right from the start. And I feel like I'll never, ever find that again. But I also don't think I can settle for anything less. So my future is stretching out in front of me, alone. And that's so hard. Being Mike's wife was what brought me happiness and fulfilment. Without it I don't know who I am, what I want. I don't want anything really. I just want him.

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Horsemad · 02/04/2021 20:17

peach, if I were you, I wouldn't even try to think about how it 'should' feel if/when you are ready to date people at some point. Not yet, anyway.

Just try and get used to the new normal a bit longer, the first year in any close bereavement is a total rollercoaster but it must be particularly tricky when it's a spouse/partner.

One day you might think yep, I do want to meet someone, or, you might never think that and yet still end up meeting somebody just by chance. Or, it could be someone you'll have known a while by that point and it grows from there.

If it's meant to be, it will happen - whether you intend it to or not. ❤️ And, it may be a similar passion to what you had with Mike, or it maybe a very different scenario.

Nothing will take away what you two had together and it's a bit like when you have a second baby and you wonder how you can love another baby as much as your first, you CAN love another person as deeply. 🙂

Someone I know - her DH died (many years ago now) and she was utterly adamant she would never remarry. She was mid fifties when it happened, so understandable maybe.
From what she's told me, I'm not entirely sure her marriage was as amazing as she says but SHE thinks it was and that's what counts. Anyway, 14 years later, she started dating an ex work colleague and eventually (4 years after that) married him and is very, very happy.

Just try and 'be'. Flowers

peachgreen · 02/04/2021 21:43

Thank you @horsemad. Your words echo my own thoughts. I know I have to learn to be a person in and of myself before I can even think about finding someone else and I think I know that now more than ever. Also because nobody can ever live up to Mike right now and that's not fair on anyone, or on myself.

So for now I need to just learn to be, like you say. Rediscover who I am and what I love. I have no idea what that is. But hopefully I'll find out.

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forgetthehousework · 07/04/2021 17:24

These are good words peach. Take the time to be yourself, and dd mum.

peachgreen · 08/04/2021 10:13

Thanks @forgetthehousework. DD is certainly keeping me on my toes as she's hit the threenager stage! Mostly it's been fine but I have struggled with bedtime refusal a bit. It's hard not having someone else to "tag in" at those points and I've really felt the strain of solo parenting on those moments. But I'm still plodding on and that's about all I can ask for.

I've been making a list of things I want to do once lockdown ends so I have an inspiration list to use on my precious days off. At the moment I use them to catch up on sleep a lot and I know that's what I need right now but I don't want to get into the habit. I've designed a tattoo I want to get in memory of Mike, and I want to get my ears pierced a second time too. All things I would have felt were a bit frivelous when he was alive because we had better things to spend the money on. But now I just feel life is too short.

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