The Empty Chair, Part 4: A Year Gone By

This week marks a full year since my dear man has been gone. So many things have changed. I still miss him every day, but I'm gradually adjusting. I think the hardest part has been the silence. I've been running the television or playing the radio all day long, just for background noise.

Life has changed in so many ways, but this next year will be one of happier adjustments. Something is in the works.  I always knew I'd married a stubborn man, and there are moments that leave me wondering. 

I mentioned in an earlier blog that Fred was adamant that I not live alone. My grandchildren moved next door in March. Everything fell together so suddenly after his passing, that I questioned if Fred had a hand in it all. I've so enjoyed having those sweet, young people so close by. It's been wonderful, but not exactly what Fred wanted. In those last weeks, he insisted that I should live in the same house with one of our children.  He worried that I'd fall, or get sick, and no one would be here to help me. He had the same concerns for our daughter, who has been living on her own for several years. Fred thought we should be together under one roof. There was just one problem. Mandy has been living over an hour's drive from me and working in Omaha.

Then, just before Christmas, a position in Lincoln suddenly opened up. Mandy applied, and job was hers. Her transfer took effect last week, and she'll be moving back to Lincoln as soon as her house sells. It will go on the market in March when winter begins to bow out. In the meanwhile, Mandy is staying with me during the week, and going home on weekends. While she's working, I have the company of her two little dogs, Watson and Willow. They are delightful, and my house isn't quiet unless they're sleeping. Puppies during the day, a daughter in the evenings. What could be better?

After the sale of her house, Mandy will find a house in Lincoln. She says that her dad won't let her rest until she finds something with enough space for both of us and the pups. She also won't settle for anything that doesn't have well lighted studio space where she can paint and I can sew.

This is all quite exciting. I'm truly looking forward to the coming year.

Nap time for Watson and Willow

Change is inevitable, so I wish all of us a year filled with love, happiness, and only those changes that bring joy.