The handymen are at my Mom’s house this weekend, finishing painting and installing hardware on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Next weekend, the tenant moves in, and the physical transition of things after Mom’s death will be effectively over.
The legal transition won’t be over until October, as my state requires publication of a notice to creditors for 90 days. I already have an appointment with the attorney for after the 90-day period, so we can finish up whatever needs finishing up.
The emotional transition…. In some ways
, that will never be over. Every time one of the dogs does something funny, I’ll think, “Oh, Mom will laugh at that!” And then I remember that no, she won’t. Or if she does, I won’t hear it.
When we were cleaning out her house, I found a dozen cookies in her freezer. Chocolate chip, the last batch she ever baked. Not her classic, traditional recipe with oats and nuts as well as chocolate chips, but a newer recipe she’d been experimenting with. The husband and I ate them over the last week, a silent and tasty tribute to her.
Since she died back in June, I’ve written two short stories (fanfiction) and posted them. The longer WIP (“Child of Iron, Goblet of Fire”) has been whispering in the back of my mind, and I want to get back to it soon. I’m planning to re-read everything I’ve written so far, reverse outlining as I go, so I can get back into the feel of the story and then write.
I plan to post the next chapter the first weekend of September
, and with a little bit of luck and grace, as well as a lot of work, finish that story and see what wants to be written next.
