The weather finally turned. The rains came and cleared all the smoke that had settled in and eliminated our ability to enjoy fall evenings on the deck.
It rained and rained and then rained some more, the plants are happy and the
trees took a while to pop into their fall glory, but as I look out my office
window I see the reds, greens, yellows and oranges of fall. It dropped to
34 last night, so I expect the trees that are holding onto to their green
leaves will give up the ghost soon.
Last week marked one month
since we lost Jason's dad, and six years since my dad passed. Soon those
milestones won't be intertwined, but in this moment they are. The shock
of John's passing hasn't lifted much. There is less to do regarding the
passing and the work has shifted to ensuring that Susie is comfortable, the
finances are organized and that she's doing well emotionally.
Christmas is looming like an
unwanted visit from someone that you like but aren't in the mood to see.
I'm looking forward to all the trimmings and making the house festive with
sounds and smells. But, just as when my dad died, putting up the
stockings will be hard. Now there are two that are missing and while one
is fresher than the other, the impact is the same.
After Halloween this year, I
organized the storage boxes and cleaned out a bunch of stuff that we no longer
use, and I hope to have the energy to do it with the Christmas items as
well. I know there are a lot of things in those tubs that we simply
do not use or have never used. Maybe if I can organize it better,
then I can have a special place for the grandpa stockings.
We had a fun Halloween, the
weather cleared up for the night and we set out a table on the driveway and
took our party outside. Lucy and Sophie had a grand time collecting candy
from the neighbors. Jason & Zack enjoyed their walkabout. They
pretend to escort the gals, but in reality, they are having a nice chat, a
walking adult beverage and chatting with the other neighbors who have patio
parties as well. The gals are no longer in need of a parent during Halloween,
but if they'll let the dads go - the dads will go.
Halloween was Monday, and
Tuesday morning I drove over to Yakima to be with mom as she headed to a scary
doctor's appointment. Well, it was "just" an MRI, but I was
happy to be able to take her. I was also able to stand in for Jason and
reconnect all of mom's electronic devices to her new Wi-Fi, and clean up her
password manager.
Healthwise, she has a couple
things going on, one of which sounds like cancer, but our Internet Dr. degree
is not on the same level as the actual doctor, who informed her yesterday that
our research was very wrong. So, good! The other issue will be significant
but isn't life threatening. Dealing with it will be a short-term pain in
the ass (or intestines) and should result in her feeling better in the long
run. When that procedure is scheduled, I'll pop back over and hang out as long
as she and I can stand it.
This week in the life of the family three is a doozy. Today and yesterday,
Jason had to go into the office, which now is unusual and puts a kink in our
daily activities. I'm thankful for the time alone in the house but miss
his noises. Today, when the power blinked off for a minute, I had to
reset all the clocks on my own. I mean...whine.
I'm getting my hair done this afternoon, so Lucy will come home to an empty
house - which brings up mom guilt. But the kid is almost 12 and as long
as they know someone is on the way, they are fine with being alone.
Tomorrow, is Lucy's first middle school band concert. It could be great,
or it could be excruciating. To be honest, even though the 6th grade band
has only been playing since September I have a lot of faith in their
progress. Lucy was practicing last night - like they do every day and it
sounded wonderful.
Thursday night is my book group and I have finished the main book, but the book
of short stories is probably not going to happen between now and then.
Friday we'll work a half day
and then head to Monroe to participate in the rehearsal dinner for Cousin
Rachel - who is getting married on Saturday. We have been looking forward
to this for ages. I really love a wedding and this one has all the promises
of a wonderful event.
I'm sure it will be bittersweet
for Susie as she and John made it a priority to attend the weddings of everyone
in the family. Not having John with us physically will be sad, but I know
in my heart that he will be in that room. He won't miss it.
We get a bit of a break, and then it's Thanksgiving. We'll be in Monroe
again for dinner and the next day we have an appointment for John's internment
at the cemetery on Friday. I'm hopeful for decent weather and a small
gathering of folks. I'll research before then if it's allowed or appropriate
to have anything prepared to say. The official catholic service
only allowed for 1 speaker and those remarks had to be less than 10
minutes. Not very personal in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it
was a lovely service, but not personal.
