That’s the part of grief people don’t prepare you for, how it shows up uninvited in ordinary moments. One song, one road, one memory and you’re right back there again.
Healing isn’t linear and there’s no deadline for missing someone.
Be gentle with yourself, and please check on the people who smile but are still carrying loss quietly.
After losing a sibling or your parents or anyone close to you, nobody tells you that on a bright sunny day just driving down the road for no reason at all tears will start to fill up in your eyes out of nowhere. Nobody tells you that for minutes on end, your mind puts you back in that time and place of trauma and you feel it all over again. So much so that you have to literally snap yourself out of it, and shake it off and say to yourself "I'm ok"... there is no time limit on grief. Check on your people.