From the Smokey NW coast of America

Hi Grizabella,

I am so sorry for your losses. Although I have siblings, I didn't grow up with any. My sister died when I was 4, at 8 months old, and I have a younger half-brother, but he grew up in another state. My step-brother lived with us only every other weekend, and we never got along as adults, and we don't speak today. My half-brother and I reconnected recently, we keep in touch periodically and hope to get together soon. He lives in Reno, with his little girl.

My mom died in 2019, and that's been the hardest loss for me. My partner, our 2 boys, and I were living in Long Beach, CA when Covid came to our port city, and we all got it, but before we knew what it was. It was certainly unlike any sort of bug I'd had before, but it ran through all of us within a week. We all got it again last summer, and it was awful. Worse than the first time and lingered longer.

We left Long Beach in September 2020 for Oregon. We drove up through Klamath Falls, West on 20 through Bend, Sisters. We arrived in Toledo the same day of your original post, September 21. We drove through the smoky forests and I remember the ominous orange gray of the sky when we finally arrived to our new apartment.

Sorry for unloading all that here, I'm certainly not trying to hijack your thread 😊 Reading your initial message that was posted on a very significant day in my life...it brought up all the memories. Since coming across.this thread a few days ago I've been thinking a lot about that day, and probably need to work some things out, on canvas. I don't usually work from memory, but maybe I need to shake things up a bit.

Thank you for your inspiring story, and again, my condolences for your losses.
 
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