Some News...

My mom passed away on Saturday at her home in Alabama. She was 63 years old.

I've been in regular contact with my dad since he wrote to tell me and, although he is very sad, he's holding up well and has people to look after him while grieves. I also spoke to my brother, and he seems to be doing ok. He admitted at the time that he didn't exactly know how he was feeling, but I've learned that this is not at all unusual. I'll be in touch with him over the next little while. We're not super close, he and I, but I don't want him to feel like he has to figure it all out on his own.

Our house is processing the news slowly and deliberately. My girls are still awfully young to know how they feel about it, but we're taking the time to have good conversations and they have lots of chosen family to guide them. My wife is doing her usual amazing job of being supportive, even in the midst of working through her own feelings of loss. We went down to Alabama to see my folks for Thanksgiving, and I'm really glad that this happened because my mom got to spend time with us (an all too rare occurrence because of the distance between us), and also particularly because my family got to know her at least a little better before she died. She was a wonderful person.

I'm in a good place, although it'll be a couple of days before I'm able to focus fully on more than this because I've offered to my dad to take on most of the prosaic details of my mom's passing. I'll talk in more specifics later; there's not much to tell about that right now except to say that I'm learning a lot and that there are a surprising number of things to attend to.

There won't be a funeral or any sort of service in Alabama. Mom didn't want anything like that. We're talking about how to most appropriately remember her here at Wayfarer House, though. I'll share what we've decided when the time comes.

In the meantime, hugs (virtual and physical) will be most gratefully accepted.