Returning to "normal", if there is such a thing

We've been back in Washington collectively since Wednesday night. I arrived home with Haleigh in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, she went to school, then we had to pick her Daddy up when she got out. We literally flew right back into things, having to drive straight back from the airport to a meeting at the school she will be attending next year. We then had to grab some dinner and pick up our dogs who had been enjoying a week-long playdate waaaaay out in the country. It occurred to my husband that there was no way he was going to be able to work the next day, so we stopped by the station on the way home and he arranged for one more day off. Yesterday he went back to work for the first time since getting the phone call exactly two weeks before that his brother was gone. I don't think his heart was in it. And I don't know how to help.

Time, I think, is going to be a friend to this family. In the face of such tragedy, I've been amazed at the beauty that has appeared. My mother-in-law has a strength of character that is rare to find. She writes from the very depths of her soul and it is cathartic for her. I am grateful for her words because they comfort me, too.

We have re-welcomed a special little girl into our lives that we have all missed so much, and that has brought healing.

I've watched my husband and his mother share a time of grieving and an overwhelming love, and it has reminded me of the things that are most important in life.

We looked for, and quite literally found silver-lined clouds.