10.9.2023
Colonial Beach, VA
As I was planning to leave for my tour at Taliesen West I got a call from The Culpeper, the facility where Aunt Mary has lived for nearly 20 years. It was hard to hear the voice on the other end of the phone saying that Aunt Mary was found deceased during a wellness check that morning. I spoke to her the day before during my drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix. She sounded OK as she was telling me that she had COVID again. We talked about her doctor’s appointment on November 8th which I would be home for. We chatted about really normal things. She said again how much she was enjoying the blog. She was a big reason I started the blog as she isn’t on Facebook so someone else had to share the pictures I posted with her while we were gone. So, in a bit of disbelief I started making phone calls; my children, my cousins, and a few close friends and family, and the funeral home.
While I was doing that Kenny found me a flight, canceled our reservations at campgrounds and Harvest Hosts for the next several weeks, and found a place for the truck in Phoenix. We determined that Comet couldn’t fly and that it would be easier for Kenny to drive the RV home. We would deal with the truck later. Within two hours I was at Sky Harbor waiting for my flight back to VA. Our daughter-in-law would pick me up at Dulles as there are no direct flights from Phoenix to Richmond. After dropping me off at the airport Kenny would drive to Dean’s house where the truck would stay and then Dean would drop him off at the RV. The quickest way for him to get back to the East Coast was Interstate 40 so, he left from Phoenix to drive back to Flagstaff to start his long trek across the country with Comet.
EJ picked me up at Dulles and we went back to her and David’s house in Fredericksburg. We were to meet with the funeral director the next afternoon. The next morning we were up and on our way to Culpeper by 10. My two amazing children were with me. I appreciated their being with me more than they know. We made it to The Culpeper and did a first pass through Aunt Mary’s room. It all looked normal except the bed wasn’t made. I pray that she went peacefully. I hate that she was alone.
We took important papers and other vital things. The meeting with the funeral director went as planned. Aunt Mary had left a few notes of how she wanted things to go and we have done our best to honor those. Unlike Mom and Dad her passing was sudden. She was 84 and not in great health, but unlike my parents we hadn’t needed to call hospice. There were no big warning signs. But she wouldn’t have wanted all that fuss.
So, her wishes are all in motion; a visitation, a graveside service, a lunch with family and friends, and a Celebration of Life at The Culpeper. We went back to the apartment on Sunday, along with my cousin, Taylor, and EJ to clean-out it out. We’ve done this too often in the last few years. I’m working on the list of specific items she wanted to go to certain people. I’m waiting on the death certificate for all the legal stuff. And Kenny made it back home with the RV and Comet.
We are hopeful we can pick-up the last couple of weeks of our trip in Georgia at the end of the month/beginning of November.
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