How long does it take?

I recently read a story where the author talked about meeting a vibrant 89 year old lady that was a huge fan of the author's musician husband. As they talked, the older lady told her how, when her mother died, she stayed in bed for two or three years before getting up and getting on with her life.

This made me wonder how long it is supposed to take for us to grieve. We live in a fast paced society that barely gives us a couple of weeks when a loved one dies, let alone two or three years. When my father died, my boss told me to take all the time I needed and graciously helped me arrange time off (thanks Jim, I continue to be grateful for that), but I don't think he wanted me out of action for two or three years.

Maybe we miss out on some of the grief we need to experience in order to resume our life if we rush our grief too much. Maybe.....