Intro

Fifteen, twenty or thirty years ago, if you had told me my mother-in-law would be moving in with me, I would have said "When pigs fly." Well, pigs must have grown wings, because she will move in to my son, Dan's, old bedroom in 2 days. She is 92 years old and in good physical health, but she suffers from dementia and is not able to live independently any longer. Jon and I have discussed options for her future over the last year, residing in our home being one of the options on the table. Since Jon works from home, it seemed doable. We drew up elaborate lists of pros and cons, spoke to others who have been through this stage of life with their parents and considered every detail we could think of. Now it is upon us.

This move is sandwiched between other life changes in our family. Last week, our son graduated from the University of San Francisco and is ready to start his new life in that wonderful city with a new apartment and a job as a bartender while he's looking for a job in his field of marketing. I am so proud of him. And in two weeks, I will retire from 16 years of teaching in Portland Public Schools so I can work on my painting full-time. Because my current life is transforming so dramatically, I decided I needed to chronicle the adventure with this blog. It's therapy for me!

More to come