It has been four months since we last hugged Mom.
I know we're all doing as well as can be...and at the same time, for me, there is a rapid river of grief raging right below the surface.
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Since my last update (just a few weeks ago)...so much has happened.
Mom's house went on the market.
Zack joined us for his two week vacation a day later.
On the 21st, we went to Amsterdam to make my Dutch residency official. (It felt remarkable that the day I picked up my residency card happened to land on my Dad's birthday. He immigrated from Europe when he was in his late teens. Such a full circle moment.)
He left just a couple days ago. A few hours later, we accepted an offer on Mom's house from a couple who wrote a beautiful letter about how much they love it. Just what we were hoping for. I'll spend another week here before heading back to Seattle to take care of loose ends. Han will join me soon after. We look forward to celebrating Mom's life with family and friends and will continue our celebration as a family with a trip to Kauai--a place that Mom loved and where we had a beautiful time together (just!) four years ago.
Upon our return, Han and I are planning on taking a road trip down the California coast to visit Zack and Aidan in San Francisco....and Isabel down in Long Beach (where I was born!). Another full circle feeling. If all goes smoothly, we will fly from California to Amsterdam at the end of September and I will feel officially "moved".
Whew!
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It is a real comfort to me to think of life as a series of chapters. Each one so important. So when you turn a page, it's not really an ending but just a continuation of the story. And you can look back at the richness of each chapter, knowing that they are fundamental to this present moment...and all that lies ahead.
That's it for now. Hope to see many of you soon.
❤️
