Travel Catch-Up: Work + Family

After our vacation on the Big Island over Labor Day weekend, the rest of  travel for September and October revolved around trips for work and family gatherings. 

September 26-29: Paris Hotel, Las Vegas (work)

I headed to Las Vegas (one of my least favorite destinations!) to present a session at the National Scholarship Providers Association annual conference at The Paris hotel and casino. So I was surrounded by lots of faux French and crowds and all of the usual activity you'd expect in that city. Luckily, the conference was very worthwhile attending, but I definitely would have preferred to be in a different city!

September 30-October 1: Austin (family)

I went directly from Vegas to Austin so that I could attend the celebration of life for Jody Kelly, my brother-in-laws mother, who had died suddenly the day after Labor Day. Although the reason for the gathering was sorrowful, the event itself was filled with much joy and remembrance and true celebration of a life well-lived. And as the last line of a poem written by one of her daughters declared, Jody truly did "die living." 

October 6-15: Chicago/Madison (family + football)

Mr. E spent a chunk of time in the Midwest to visit family and friends and go to two UW Badgers football games. He stayed at his Mom's in downtown Chicago to work during the week and made his way up to Madison on the weekends for the sporting events. Unfortunately, the Badgers aren't having a very good season this year!

October 9-11: San Diego (work)

We had our second Resource Development in-person team retreat at the beginning of October, gathering in San Diego this time around and spending the first day at Southwestern College, where one of our team members graduated. It was really interesting to tour the campus and hear about her experiences there. I also got a chance to meet her four amazing cats! :-)

October 14-18: Austin (family)

I returned to Austin to celebrate my Mom's 89th birthday on Oct. 14 and to stay for a few extra days while my sister J went to Iowa for a work trip. The birthday celebration on Saturday was lovely, with takeout from our favorite nearby Asian restaurant, EurAsia. Then I took Mom out to lunch at our favorite spot, Panera, the next day. 

Unfortunately, on Monday afternoon, Mom's health took a very sudden and drastic turn for the worse, and we spent most of the day in the Emergency Room. Although Mom seemed better by that evening, when I went to see her on Tuesday morning, she was so weak that she could hardly stand or move on her own and her oxygen levels kept dropping. J came back early from her work trip that night, as Mom's condition was worsening to the point that the hospice care team started to provide extra care for her. The hospice nurse estimated that Mom probably would live for no more than two weeks, given her diagnosis and how her vitals and awareness were starting to fluctuate. We arranged for dedicated overnight care for her so that J could feel comfortable going home, and I flew home to Sac on Wednesday evening, knowing that I'd likely be returning to Austin soon.

October 20-26: Austin (family)

J called me in the middle of the night on Thursday because she'd received a call from the night care team that Mom was struggling. On Friday morning, we touched base for an update, and I booked a return flight for noon once J told me that she didn't think Mom would last through the weekend. Within about an hour of that conversation, J called to tell me that Mom had died, peacefully and painfully, with J and the church deacon in her room. The entire staff was wonderful and caring and supportive, and I'm so glad that Mom had a good death and didn't linger.

I got to Austin on Friday night, and J and I spent time on Saturday talking through the various administrative tasks and arrangements that we would need to make, including some bullet points to include in Mom's obituary. Then J and family drove down to South Padre Island on Sunday morning to spend the week at the beach, since she really just needed some time away. I stayed at their house in Austin so that I could focus on taking care of Mom's affairs, since I'm the primary Trustee and Executor of her estate.

One unexpected and lovely aspect of being at the house was that I discovered that one of the storage bins in the garage was full of Mom's memorabilia, including her school yearbooks, lots of photos, and travel journals from some of her adventures (cross-country road trip, Western States road trip, honeymoon to Hawai'i, Paris trip with me and Mr. E, etc.). As I perused all of these items, I got such a wonderful sense of my Mom as her younger self, and it was such a healing and heartfelt way to spend those first few days after her death. 

I worked some of the time while I was in Austin, and then Mr. E joined me there on Tuesday evening as I was starting to feel quite lonely in that big empty house without even any animals to keep me company! I shared with him some of Mom's travel journals, and we celebrated and toasted her with oysters and wine during Happy Hour at Shore. We both returned to Sac on Thursday. I was so glad to be back home with the kitties!