View from Amity Porch

I had settled into my new home in Delaware, and had gone on a fall foliage trip to New England.  A phone call informed me Mother had died in her sleep in Florida, a few months after her 98th birthday.  I flew back to Amity, meeting the larger family there for the funeral.  Afterwards we had lunch on the porch overlooking the beloved and familiar view, talking about the changes in all our lives, for of course, Amity was to be sold.  No longer would this be the gathering place for extended family and friends.  The closing of an era, uprooting us all.

It is said that one is never completely one's own self until both parents have died, for while a parent lives, their expectations influence us mightily.  But how I would miss this strong, intelligent, valiant, delightful and loving woman.