To honor the strength it takes to face what we did not choose—and to recognize the quiet courage within ourselves and others that rises up to meet it. Oprah Daily Intention, April 4, 2026
I survived ‘the visit’ just fine (reference last week’s post). As usual, my thoughts and fears beforehand were far worse than what actually happened.
They arrived around 1 and were back on the road to California by 4 … I don’t expect I will see them again. I headed out shortly after they left to make it to the hockey game (we won and we’re moving on to the Division Finals this week!).
They did not bring a UHaul, just a pickup truck with a hitch – so they packed all of the things they wanted in the cargo trailer (the Harley, the big tool box, the air compressor and some miscellaneous items).
It’s nice to have the extra space in the garage. And that side of the house that used to house the travel trailer and cargo trailer now looks so very vacant. Using it to store some of the items I need to get rid of until I figure out where they should go. (A friend has suggested I put a pickleball court on this vacant space …. probably not.)
They again said they did not want those letters Jim wrote from Vietnam, so I’ll be honoring him by reading through all of them here. I love getting a feel for the young 22 year old Jim, who missed his wife and son. No, it’s not the Jim I knew – as his son has said a couple of times – but it’s who Jim WAS during that really hard time and I’m looking forward to getting to know ‘that’ Jim.
They both emphasized that they do not want nor have the room for any of this ‘stuff’. Even the photos. So I’ll find room in the spare bedroom closet for the items I think are special so they can revisit them again once I’m gone. The other things will eventually find their way to a local charity or I may check with an ‘estate sales’ person to see whether he has suggestions.
I was not asked if I wanted to attend the remembrance in Minnesota next month. The daughter-in-law spent some time gathering the photos she wanted for the remembrance video – and she did not ask for any photos of Jim and I to include in the video. I understand that my 7 years in Jim’s life do not compare to the 50 he spent with Estelle. But to be left out would hurt if I was actually there to see it, so I’m very much ok with not attending.
This week in May always brings some special occasions and memories. My oldest sister turned 92 on the 13th, I turned 75 on the 17th, my Dad would have been 130 (!) on the 18th (yes, he was born in 1896 and turned 55 the day after I was born; we lost him in 1984), and my second oldest sister would have turned 91 on the 20th (we lost her in 2018).
