Life Going On

So Saturday was mostly phone calls and consulting with the funeral home guy. Sunday we took the ferry to Seattle and visited the stepmothers and I did some shopping for the boys. Have I mentioned that I love Target, and wish it would come to Germany instead of stupid, evil Walmart? Yay, at last decent clothes for my sons. Ooo! And we saw orcas off the port bow of the ferry!

And we're now working on emptying the house out. Much less difficult now that Mom is actually gone, because it's somehow less offensive and vulture-like. It's just a job that needs to be done. A big, big job. The hospital bed and wheelchair and stuff went today - they were on loan from an outfit called ECHHO (Ecumenical Christian Helping Hands Organization - yes, Christians, helping really sick people for free, regardless of their religious affiliation, so quit complaining about them, okay?). We have to wait for the death certificate before we can arrange for cremation and talk to the lawyers and cancel credit cards and internet service and start on selling the house and all that.

There may be a buyer for the house, maybe. Nate's wife's younger brother is about 21, plans to stay in town, and is considering buying a house. It would be good to keep this house in the family, sort of, and I hope bad family politics don't arise if the house turns out to be worth more than he can afford. Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I guess my main concern has to be how I'm going to get my stuff from here to Germany. It's not a lot of stuff, just some books and CDs and a few kitcheny-things and clothes, basically so that I have a lot of little things to remind me of her in everyday life. The rest has to be packed up and somehow disposed of. A bunch of stuff went to the landfill today, and Mom's friends will organize a garage sale at some point, and things are gradually getting done, but the job looks pretty overwhelming right now.

Sunday was yucky, but the sun came back today. I'm glad I get to see Port Townsend in the sun. Now that Mom's gone, I don't know when I'll be back here. I really love Port Townsend - yes, I hated it as a teenager, and couldn't wait to get out, but when I came back here with toddler Kilian and was a small-town mom it was great. I know we can never live here because Robert wants to be a college professor, and that makes me sad because it really is my favorite place. But it's so remote that without the family obligation I have no idea when or even if I'll come back. So I'm glad I get to see it in sunshine for what might be the last time.