paminorlando's comments

The experience of losing a parent

10 Sep 2009 10:55 AM

I had never heard of this before, until earlier today. I lost my mom to colon cancer in April 2009 and lost my dad just last week (August 31). Both had been ill so their deaths were not unexpected. I live in Florida while the rest of my family lives in Pennsylvania. For the past 10 months, I have been "on standby" to fly home for various reasons. I think I have been home 9 times since last Christmas.

I was discussing this with my hair stylist today (I guess they really ARE therapists!) and said I feel oddly "lost", can't really explain it any other way. She mentioned orphan syndrome and this explains it exactly. Since I returned to Florida late last week, I have just felt lost and am having trouble getting back on track and into a routine. I feel a little better now that it's a normal thing to feel and I will stop beating myself up over how I feel. Thank you for sharing!