Dispatch from the Heartland, Part V: The last night

Tonight is my last night under Rita's roof for a while. Tomorrow night I catch the California Zephyr, and Wednesday night I arrive in Emeryville, California (which is just north of Oakland). Friday I fly back to Seattle to observe the Colonel's birthday.

It's not been a bad couple of weeks: Hanging out with mom has meant a lot of naps, a lot of laundry, and a lot of general chores. Lots of stuff had piled up while she has been sick, but I think I got most of the backlog handled.

In the long run, if she gets better, there is the question of what to do with the house, which is paid for, and a nice four bedroom, two bathroom house on a big lot. In a similar neighborhood in Seattle, it would easily fetch 600k, but here in Mediocrity Heights, it's probably worth about 100k, once the dust settles. Sister woman thinks Mom needs to go to assisted living, but I'm not so sure about that: Prior to this whole mess, she had her little groove (church, beauty parlor, supermarket, luncheons, post office) down pretty good, and I'd like to see her resume that life. After all, she's lived in Council Bluffs since 1942, and her house since 1962. There's really no need to rush things, unless there's a need to rush things.

As I speed across the rails, I'll undoubtedly have ample time to ponder all of this. But then again, with the scenery as amazing as it is on the Zephyr, and the bar car so handy, I'll probably find some other things to think about. Which will be nice for a change.