New Chapter

I could probably write a book about this one, but I will keep it brief here.  There are markers in life which "close a chapter" and "open another anew".  Those moments are substantial.  We have had one such moment occur in the last 2 weeks.

In the 4 1/2 years since we moved here, a continuous theme has been care of ageing parents, support for end of life stages of frail elderly (who were and always will be giants in my life), and transitions for those who remain.  Mother passed a year ago in October, so we marked the first full year without her. That was big. Two weeks ago, my brother and I sold our parents' house.  We moved in when I was 3 years old, which was 60 years ago this month.  The house is small by today's standards, but it is special none the less.  A young family is moving in and we could not be more pleased.

On the way to the closing, I checked into my Facebook account.  A friend from Up North had just posted a poster showing a ground squirrel all stretched out with a front paw that seemed like it was waving.  Bold print read:  "Go on without me."  The poster was from "Dorothy", to whom my friend said "Thank you, Dorothy."  (Mother's name was Dorothy.)  In the approximately 4 entries below was reference to Titanic Jack.  (Dad's name was Jack.)  My friend closed with "Have a great evening everyone."  In that moment, I knew it was going to be OK.  My brother and I (with our families) have done well in closing out this chapter.  It is now time for us to get on with our lives. Mother and Dad smile.