Rough Spot or "New Normal?"

It's been a challenging Holiday season. For all intents and purposes it is really the first one that I am navigating as an official empty nester. I blogged some of the Thanksgiving challenges in my last post, but now we have Christmas. Decorating the house alone, filling out the Christmas cards alone, watching all the Christmas specials alone and wrapping presents alone.. all a bit strange, but picking out and then decorating our Christmas tree alone was the hardest - and the time I most remembered  the much beloved traditions and now missing family members. (My husband, William,  was around for some of the above, but aside from picking out the tree when we did so as a family, he hasn't ever really been an active part of the other traditions anyway.) I did manage to get Lynn to a church holiday event - but even that was awkward as Donald showed up unexpectedly and the tension between the two was palpable. Did I mention already that Cheyann is back in Nebraska?  She is apparently living with her bio dad's ex-girlfriend and now has a waitressing job in a bar. Honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up. Her current boyfriend is with her, not yet employed, and her bio dad vocally detests him and I will actually be surprised if the two don't come to blows at some point in the near future. But, glass half-full, she has a place to lay her head at night and a new job to try to help move her forward. It's something. Yesterday I attempted to confirm with William the plans for a Christmas gift idea for Lynn and got, "I'm got getting that lying, stealing @#@ (fill in your favorite nasty curse word) anything. If you want to get her something do it with your own money." And Melissa shared with me that she no longer tells people that she even has sisters anymore because it's just all too complicated. I reached out to an old friend who I know has an adult adopted daughter who is no longer in their lives to help me better understand this new chapter. Is it yet another rough spot in this journey of raising loosely or unattached traumatized adopted children, or do I have to get used to a "new normal." She shared with me a plethora of experiences of others in her circle that all felt way too similar, and sadly concluded that she believes it is a 'new normal.' Is it time to accept that, or hold out hope?