When telling people (and by 'people' I mean strangers or new friends) that someone close to you is dead, it is always awkward.
Someone was telling me recently that his Great-Grandmother had lost 3 of her brothers and her husband in the last year of the First World War.
We both laughed.
Not out of disrespect, but because there is nothing else you can do to diffuse the intensity of the moment. When I have to tell people about my Dad, I notice that I say what I have to say as quickly as possible, laugh, and then change the topic of conversation.
It's awkward for both the person telling the story, and the recipient who never knows how to react. There is no right way to say it, and no right way to respond. 'I'm sorry' always seems to be insufficient and insincere.
Someone was telling me recently that his Great-Grandmother had lost 3 of her brothers and her husband in the last year of the First World War.
We both laughed.
Not out of disrespect, but because there is nothing else you can do to diffuse the intensity of the moment. When I have to tell people about my Dad, I notice that I say what I have to say as quickly as possible, laugh, and then change the topic of conversation.
It's awkward for both the person telling the story, and the recipient who never knows how to react. There is no right way to say it, and no right way to respond. 'I'm sorry' always seems to be insufficient and insincere.
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