Chapter 11 – Life Goes On

Just a week to go until Christmas. It is a hectic time, but enjoyable none the less. Last minute shopping to do, holiday baking, gift wrapping and cleaning the house. This year seems different. My days are mine. Well, with some direction from my wife of course. Last week I put up my mother-in-law’s Christmas tree and ours. Yesterday, it was my mom’s turn, after we went out for lunch. I learned how to make a pie this week, for our annual supper club holiday get together. I’m off to have coffee with a friend later this morning. Life is good. 

Back to the renovation. It seemed almost surreal. A dream we had had for a long time was about to come true because we had decided to take some serious steps toward our retirement plan. Who knew? This was the furthest thing from my mind when we scheduled that first meeting with our personal banker. Oh well, there was no turning back now. The reno plan was confirmed and a timeline was set. Summer was just beginning and we were excited.

As it turned out, we were going to have a few tough weeks in front of us before we got underway. My grandmother was moved to hospice care and passed away a week before her 95^th birthday. We were sad to lose her, but grateful for all she had given us. Not the material things, but the life lessons and great memories. We miss her dearly. A month later, I lost my younger brother very suddenly. He had struggled with addiction for many years. I saw him for the first time in a long time at my grandmother’s visitation and was so happy to see he had turned a corner. He spoke with clarity and took in his surroundings. I offered up a suit that had belonged to one of our sons for him to wear to the funeral and he graciously took me up on the offer. This was the same guy who refused to dress up for our dad’s funeral seven years prior, when he was in the depths of his addiction. On the day of the funeral, I saw him outside the church with something in his hand. It was a vape cigarette. He had quit smoking! I was truly amazed and cautiously optimistic that I may be getting my brother back. I made the mental note that I should reach out and take him for a coffee soon. It may be time to start rebuilding our relationship. Sadly, I didn’t make that call in time. Four weeks after I had seen him, I received a call telling me he had passed. As tragic as this news was, we were grateful that he passed away in his bed at the group home where he lived, with the people who cared for him close by. It was not by himself in a ditch somewhere with a needle in his arm, which had been our worst fear. One of God’s small miracles.  I share this story as a reminder to make that call when it pops into your mind to do so. Don’t put it off as I did this time and on so many other occasions, with relatives and friends who have enriched my life in one way or another. You may not get another chance.

We delayed the start of our renovation for a week while we laid my brother to rest. The last social event we held in the pre-reno house was the reception after his funeral. The following week was spent filling boxes with the contents of our entire main floor and preparing to move out for a month. Soon the construction crew would be onsite, and our home would take on an entirely new look.

Life was moving on as it does, and we tried to focus on what was in front of us. Five weeks later, our home had been transformed and step one of the retirement plan was complete. There was one caveat to the story. We had gone a bit overboard with the renovation and exceeded our budget. It would mean pushing retirement out by one year. We were okay with this. The house far exceeded our expectations, and the additional cost was worth every penny.

More on the adventure next week. Hope you can join me.