It's now been over 24 weeks since Mom died. My bio-father died a few days before Christmas. I did not go to the funeral. I intended to, up until the night before. Then I realized that funerals are for the grieving. I didn't fit into that group. I barely knew him, hadn't seen him in ages and rarely spoke to him. In fact, except for the realization that I am now an orphan, there has been very little change to my life. His death made me miss Mom even more for some reason. That was hard. Especially since it was right before Christmas. I only told a few close friends of his death. It doesn't even seem right for me to bring it up. That would elicit the expected "oh, I'm so sorry for your loss". It really wouldn't be appropriate considering the circumstances.
We survived the holidays. They were less miserable than I expected. I think everyone focused on making it nice for the kids. They did seem to enjoy it. I was thrilled to escape 2006. I've never been so happy to have a year over and done with.