#87 Summer, Autumn, & 2020 Outro
.....and do whatever the hell it takes to make us feel real again!
Navigating the crazy alternate world known as 2020, my son settled into his own brand of daily routines: bouncing around from job to job, committing to none. Doing odd jobs here and there, trying to find his place in the world. It was especially difficult for him to find his place due to reentering society just as Covid was taking root.
He made decisions that made me nervous, reenacting scenarios that lead to trouble in the first place. One step forward, one step back.
If he can stay focused and avoid the wrong people he’ll be ok.
If he can’t, it will be a long, hard road for him.
I offer help, and the extent that he was willing to take it varied.
We’ll see over time where it leads.
As for me, I had to focus on my mental health and physical health by distracting myself from the “what-if’”s and “what could-be”s that forever plague my mind. Anyone who’s been through traumatic family events know all too well that you must create coping mechanisms to deal with it. Filling my time with outdoor activities and travel were my tools of choice.
But not all travels are planned, or meant for fun:
June- A couple of weeks after the 2020 section hike, less than three weeks after Uncle Lody and I talked about the fall of family giants, I was walking in the park behind my apartment when I answered a phone call from my mom. My aunt had unexpectedly passed away in her sleep. She and my mom were more than sisters, they were life-long best friends. So close, in fact, that it was rare, and almost strange, to mention one without the other. Their names, with an “and” between, almost became one word. My aunt is in most of my family related memories - for as far back as I’m able to remember. She had an adventurous heart and very supportive of my ventures.
A giant truly has fallen. My family was in disbelief. My wife and I drove to our hometown for the funeral. Unfortunately we had couldn’t stay but a few days.