I lost my best friend 7 years ago now and he was like a brother to me I had known him since before I could even remember, my mom used to say we were best friends in the playpen even. Of course there is still that great sadness when I start thinking about him and how he is not here, but recently, within the last year or so, I have noticed that I am able to remember the memories, think of the times we had as good things and even smile sometimes when I look at all the pictures of us. Now it is still very upsetting to see certain things we used to do together, like our bowl we used to use that is permanently retired, that still causes me to feel immediate sadness but I do believe that over time I have been able to concentrate on and love the times we had as great memories and that they slowly became less linked to the un-ending sorrow feeling, and more linked to love and a kind of happiness that makes me smile but still leaves me somewhat empty bc I know he is gone.

I know how you feel, to an extent, a friend no matter how good is not a brother, but in my experience time does help us remember what we had with them and the love we have for them while allowing for some of the pain associated with those memories to dissipate.