The Winter and Spring
My life has changed quite a bit since my last entry. After leaving Austin in mid-December, I drove back to the Northwest where I hoped to spend Christmas with my sister, Doti, in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle. When I arrived in Portland shortly before Christmas, though, Doti wasn’t doing well. I had a feeling when I was down in the Florida Keys in November that something was wrong. Something was telling me to get back home to the Northwest, so I cut my trip short and drove back to the Northwest, and now I know what it was.
I spent a lot of time by Doti's bedside this winter helping her, but her health continued to deteriorate and, sadly, she passed away in late January. It was a difficult time and I'm still trying to process it. I created a new section of my website devoted to my sister Doti if you’d like to read about her.
I'm now staying at my parents' house (formerly Doti's house) in Bellingham, a city that’s been my “home away from home” for the past 25 years. It's been a challenging winter and spring. I spent December and January with my sister before she passed away, then spent February contacting her friends and cleaning out her house. In March I distributed her possessions and wrote her tribute webpages, and I spent April working on my parent’s house, getting it fixed up and ready to be sold. My parent’s house sold in late April, so I’ve been spending May packing up and getting ready to head back to Portland, where I plan to start looking for another job. My parents died several years ago but I have a lot of good memories of their house – and of Doti, who lived here for 15 years after they died – so I’m going to be sad to say goodbye to this wonderful place. I've posted some panorama photos of my parents' house, mostly for myself and for my relatives, but you're welcome to check them out, too.
Though it’s been a challenging winter, first losing Doti and then selling my parent’s house, it’s also been fulfilling and I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. I left on my trip around America in May 2016, almost exactly one year ago, and I’ve had an interesting adventure, to say the least. But now I’m looking forward to getting back home and getting on with my life. I plan to keep posting occasional updates in this website, however, as the mood strikes. So stay tuned!
Spending the Winter and Spring in Bellingham
