Having gone home, I’m now going home

4/1/08

Now I’m waiting in the Indianapolis airport for the flight (through Denver) for Seattle. I guess this is really going home. I’ve lived in the Northwest for more than half of my life.

So here’s a brief account of the memorial trip:

It was too late when we arrived to see many of Mother’s friends. But my cousins were all still there when I arrived. I was introduced to their kids and we swapped some stories of growing up together. I also got to talk with Mother’s brother, whom I hadn’t seen for 25 years. He and I have moved farther from the constraints of our Hoosier youth than any of my family, including my mother.

At the graveside ceremony today, Mother was remembered as “quite a Lady.”

I appreciated talking with our neighbor who is energetically planning her 100th birthday party July 5th.

Following the service, we all had barbeque sandwiches at my cousin’s house. She pulled out her family photo boxes and we all reminisced some more. My cousins are all salt of the earth. I got to spend some more time with my uncle and recognized that we have still more to talk about.

This brief time provided a place in my life for the grief, the pride, the disappointment, the unfinished conversations, the unmet expectations, the fond memories, all that history that leaves this world in a way when a person dies -- and leaves behind the strength of that person's life. My mother gave me a good start in life.

Following the family time, we drove to the Brown County woods for a look at the first house I designed and built. It’s changed, but the basic house and its relationship with the site continue to provide a rich structure for the personalization it’s owners have applied over the past several decades.

Now to move on with life with a big hole in it.