The Closing

Wifey and I drove to Key Largo yesterday, for the tail end of Mike's birthday celebration. We met Mike and Loni for brunch, and then they took off for home while Wifey and I stayed. We ate well and napped prodigiously. Last night we sat by the sea as a full moon reflected off the water. I thought about my Mom and Dad, together there, for eternity. Jewish tradition says that the soul doesn't rest until all earthly dealings are finished. And so it came to pass today -- my Florida sister called from the real estate closing. Mom's condo is now owned by a NY Rican guy whose parents are moving there from San Juan. My California sister, Florida sister, and I will each receive out share of the proceeds -- slightly more than $14K. I paid Mom's final Palm Beach County water bill. My Florida sister will pay the final FPL bill. And that will bring to a close the last of Mom's earthly responsibilities. Maybe now I will grieve. Mom died just under 3 months ago, and I still haven't cried. From the time I was at her bedside at MJH until now, it was all business: dealing with the cremation place, getting death certificates, spreading ashes, more paperwork with MJH, dealing with the Special Needs Trust folks, talking with the Hospice rabbi and more talks with the nursing home staff. It takes me awhile to let my emotions out. Maybe now with Mom they will. Dad really took his duty as a provider seriously. He died in 1982, and left Mom financially set for the next 31 years. She traveled the world and gave generous gifts to her kids and grandkids. In 1986 she gave my sisters and me each $10,000. Wifey and I used the money as a down payment for our first house -- the place we brought D1 to -- the beginning of our family. Interest rates were high in the 80s and 90s, so Mom lived well off the interest from the $240K Dad left her. As she reached her 80s, she started using principal, and it saw her to the end, when she put the remaining money into a trust that let her get Medicaid, and let her 3 kids get her condo. I've handled her financial affairs for so long now. Looking back, her life was so full and vibrant --until she got to about 89. She crashed her car, and began to decline. She stayed too long alone in her condo -- until a nasty fall convinced her it was time to get constant care. She made it nearly a year at MJH. She didn't see 3 of her grandkids at all. Springsteen is so right: in the end what you don't surrender, the world just strips away. So Mom is gone, and today was the CLOSING. It's funny -- we do realestate closings all the time, and they're usually mileposts for the future -- nicer house -- better location. But Mom's today was truly final. I wrote FINAL PAYMENT on my check to the water company, and meant it. The funny thing about that -- it was still in Dad's name --so long after he died. Mom never changed her phone records either -- we used to laugh when caller ID showed a call from a man gone during the 1st Reagan Administration. So rest well, Mom. We finished all we had to do. We love you and miss you. We tell Grandma Sunny stories all day. Your memory is a blessing to us.