Others were unbearable.
I discovered that
grief didn’t move in a straight line.
A successful presentation could make me feel strong.
Then a little girl laughing on a bus could leave me crying behind a closed bathroom door.
I learned to make room for both experiences.
And slowly, I began to understand something.
Leaving Dominic had not erased my pain.
But it had given me a place where I could experience that pain without being asked to make someone else comfortable.
One evening, Charlotte invited me to dinner.
We sat in a small restaurant near the waterfront.
After ordering, she asked, “Can I ask you something personal?”
I nodded.
“Why did you accept this job now?”
I looked out at the lights reflected on the water.
“Because I finally stopped waiting for permission.”
Charlotte didn’t interrupt.
I continued.
“For years, I made every decision around my husband’s needs. When our daughter died, I realized that I
