Time and Other Passings

     I am surprised to see how much time has passed since my last blog post, and yet I know that the past few months have slid by because of many challenges. During that time, I traveled back to Northern California several times to see my ailing dad, and spend time with him and my sister. I was able to be there with them when my dad passed away on May 16. What a difficult goodbye that was, and yet we knew that him being at home, pain-free, under the care of a an amazing hospice team, and with friends and family visiting, made the end of his life as good as it could have been. 

     My dad was a big presence in our lives. My sister and I attribute our love of all things creative to him, as he was a relentlessly energetic and creative “maker.” When other parents might have given their kids toys, my dad took us to the hobby store and let us pick out kits and discover new things to make. We learned that hands-on work ethic and the development of an artistic eye from him, to be sure. It is no accident that all three of us kids have made creativity a significant part of our adult lives. 

     My dad had a lifelong, obsessive love of cars. I teased him when I was in college that he never knew the names of my friends but could identify them instantly by their cars. Some years back, I found this photo of him from the early 1950’s, perched on his beloved 1949 Mercury. When he told me that he had to sell the car to pay the hospital bill after my sister was born, I knew I needed to make an art quilt about it. 

     Now we go forward, thinking of him and my mom and my brother somewhere together. If there is a heaven, I’m sure my dad is driving a Ferrari there. 

       So, I am recalculating once again, adjusting to the changed size of my family and knowing that my parents are, finally, free of the pain and frustrations that plagued their last years. I am working on getting caught up on work and home and the business that comes with day to day life. 

       It would be easier if I had two functional hands, but… oops. While driving to California a few weeks ago, I tripped in a parking lot and did one of those outstretched hand falls. When I got to California, I was immersed in events around my dad’s care and passing, so did not appreciate until I returned home that my left hand was, perhaps, more sore than it should have been. I learned that there is a small fracture that requires stabilizing by means of a rather cumbersome splint.  Ah, well.  

      This, too, shall pass.