The entire life you built and were expecting to live for a long time gets destroyed. It's simply gone. The first year after a loss of a partner is, in fact, not the hardest. The pain is the rawest, but people really rally around you and basically carry you through. The second year, however...oooof.
The path of grief is far lonelier the second year. People have moved on...and start to tell you to move on. People buy houses, have kids, get married...and there you are. Still stuck in this weird in-between of the life you had and were counting on and this desolate expanse in front of you. It's the part of the path you have to walk alone. I actually had a slightly different reaction to his tweet. I thought, 'Yup...that's exactly where he's supposed to be.'
Five and a half years after my partner's untimely death from a brain aneurysm at 43 years old, I met someone. This year we got married. Life, at this exact moment, is good. But I also know it's entirely temporary...which makes me appreciate this all the more.
My heart goes out to him.