Learning....

It hasn't been easy---the last two months since Dad died. Being with someone for 41 years and watching them suffer and fade away is heart wrenching. But I am doing ok, and learning to go on. It's hard picking up all the chores he did, such as mowing and shoveling snow, and cooking---Dad loved to cook. I have good neighbors, who have mowed and shoveled without me even asking, and have asked nothing in return. Certainly a nice batch of homemade cookies or fudge will be in order. Many people have reached out to me. I have been blessed several times already.

I think one of the hardest things is knowing Dad never realized his dream to retire in southern Indiana. I am thankful for the wonderful few days we spent in Paoli in the spring of 2009. Would I move there alone? I don't know. There are so many things to consider. The area is isolated. There is a hospital, but specialists are many miles away in other cities. I would also be further away from friends and family up here, and the drive would be long for me, and through some very curvy roads. I do need to get out of the city, though. It won't be easy. First step---clearing out clutter so I can have an appraiser look at the house. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, so I'm treading on shaky ground here. I could be in for a big disappointment.