Hey, that’s super cool and entirely valid. How you feel after a loss - whether it’s ten seconds, ten days, or ten years - after a bereavement is a bit of a lottery where there’s no winners, just differing levels of shit.

Through my work life and private life, I’ve been to more than my fair share of funerals, and they all suck to different degrees. Some are absolutely horrendous to get through if the close family have been particularly affected, some have been led by a very positive celebrant who framed the departed’s life in a great way.

The wake is always fairly positive though. If it’s someone I knew on a thinly professional level then I’ll get a coffee, share a light-hearted story about the deceased with their close family, and fuck off.

If it’s been someone I was closer with, then I’ve had a great time meeting old friends, going over long forgotten hilarious stories, getting a bit emosh realising that we won’t be sharing any more again, and getting rat-arsed into the night knowing that the funeral brought us all back together for one last hurrah.

Everyone deals with it differently though, and that’s awesome. The only caveat I’d apply to that statement is that if you find (god forbid you have to go through it again soon) that it starts to affect your day to day life, then there’s loads of resources to reach out and seek a helping hand.

Sorry. I’ve turned a ten second reply into a ten minute one there.