AdvertisementIllustration: HuffPost; Photos: Getty According to people who've lost a spouse, the hardest days can come all throughout the year — not just immediately before or after the funeral. “It’s when the funeral’s over, and everybody’s gone home and the calls have stopped ... [that] you realize, ‘Damn, this shit is real,’” Williams added. Though many people look forward to the break from work and responsibilities that the weekend offers, people who’ve lost a spouse say their days off can also be some of the loneliest. “The biggest things for me … that would really trigger the hard, hard stuff was just a sense of overwhelm,” Rampey said. AdvertisementAllen said she and her sons have treated big days differently since her husband died 11 months ago.

Source: Huffington Post November 22, 2025 12:23 UTC