THOSE CHANGES...

My friend, who turned a young 72 in January, has sold her house and will be moving this week. She has been living in this same house since she arrived from Germany as a boat-bride when she was 18. She will be staying in this province a little while longer, sharing an apartment with her son, then will be moving in with her daughter and 3 adolescent granddaughters in NB. It is an enormous change, and her feelings alternate between the excitement, and the fear, of turning the page.

She may be coming to stay with me for a couple of days while wrapping things up; her various appointments with doctor, automobile maintenance, the bank. I’ll prepare the room upstairs, and try to make her as physically comfortable as possible. I expect there will be some physiological hand-holding too. I imagine myself in her shoes, and hope that I can make the transition easier for her.

She gave me a piece of furniture that she has owned and loved for a long time; a corner china cabinet. Late yesterday afternoon my grandson, Fred, accompanied me and we wrapped it in blankets, laid it carefully in my truck, then carried it upstairs and installed it in my living room. She wanted it to be where she could see it occasionally. In its present place of honor, it will be the first thing in sight when she enters my home. I think she’ll be pleased.

Our lives shift as time marches on, altered by events not always of our own making, but also by actions of others. A point in case, I said to Fred during our drive back, is you becoming a daddy in a few months. It will affect all of us, maybe me more than some, seeing that we share a residence, or are you planning to move too? He assured me that no, he and mommy-to-be will make room for the baby in the apartment. His job requires that he be absent for periods of time, and he’ll feel better knowing that his little girlfriend will not be alone with first child; Mémère will be backup.

“Wise lad!” I declared. And we both SMILED.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.