Going Solo

Monday I attended the Group Grief Session hosted by Hospice. Might have been 20-25 there; some have attended such discussions for years. They do have some helpful thoughts to share, and you are surrounded by people who have been there done that. Take aways: grief manifests itself physically as well as emotionally and spiritually through poor decision making, confusion. slower in accomplishing even simple tasks. When things get tough, I can pull the 'grief' card as my excuse! Also grief takes a long time to overcome (Ouch!).

Tuesday afternoon Kristy came with Emily; her purpose was to help weed through some of the financial challenges dealing with our trust. While we had a his and her trust, Sandy wanted hers to convert to an irrevocable trust on passing. I don't recall the rationale for this, I just know that it creates a lot of work for us. On Wednesday we met with the representative of the law office and received some homework to complete. Once home, Kristy was able to jump right in to organize the tasks that needed doing. She was able to put things in perspective for me with her spreadsheets, but this trust business is still a challenge for me.

Sue and Steve also left Arkansas headed to NM Wednesday morning. They did some amazing things while here; they were like the fly on the wall; always there when needed and reaching out to assist even when I didn't know assistance was needed. Sue had the foresight to record several conversations with Sandy over the past couple weeks of her life which are very precious to me. Their presence was greatly appreciated and their absence certainly missed.  Thanks so much!!

Thursday, Kristy and I were able to get some accounts organized, phone calls made, bank accounts simplified and felt good about our accomplishments. But she needed to return home before noon, so another sad departure. By 12 noon, I was officially on my own, flying solo. But this evening I was able to talk with our attorney about this trust confusion and he confirmed that we could merge the two - which makes our lives so much simpler. So I had to contact those that we had previously contacted to tell them to put things on hold until we can resolve how to make this happen. Hopefully we can get this taken care of quickly so we can move forward with what needs to be done to merge the two trusts.

Friday and Saturday were spent in staying productively busy. Organizing book cases, scanning lots of pictures, working outside. I did pick up the metal roofing for one our rent houses and for one of Rebecca's garages; the plan was to start installing on Monday, but the weather may preclude that. And no, the bookcases are not fully organized; just books placed in different piles depending on their final destination.

Church today. I find that sacrament meetings have a more significant meaning for me. People have been good about inquiring about me; when anyone asks 'how are you doing' I tell them they need to give me a hug. I have a dinner invite this evening.

I have been on my own four days now; it is bearable, not necessarily easy. I try to stay focused on being busy and that helps. But it is the many tender mercies that God provides that makes this possible. I know from whence my strength comes.