Flying the Nest Again and Mom's Obituary

Rachel just left for her new home after having spent the summer with us. It goes without saying that it was nice to have been able to spend as much time with her as we did. We'll both miss her presence and her perspective as well as her input into our lives. I don't have any of my own children but if I did I can't imagine being capable of any more love for them than I have for her.

My first day of retirement was a success! Rachel rented a 17 foot U-Haul and we got busy moving her stuff into her new digs on the north side of Rochester, a little further removed from the bustle of downtown than she'd like but the new place has its advantages as well and I think she's gonna like it there.

She's excited about her new position with UMR as an Admissions Representative. It will involve travel and I would imagine that will be to high schools and college informational fairs as she reaches out to prospective students. I can see her thriving in the position for the year that she's contracted for.

We've been enjoying the warm nights out on the deck sipping on Pumking beer. It's a little treat that Rachel turned me on to the other night. So smooth. It's not something I'd typically buy but based on her recommendation I was all in. She's yet to steer me wrong on a beer and I like to think that I'm teaching her a little something about wine.

While on the deck the other night, I noticed that I was hearing crickets in stereo. I closed off my right ear and they were coming through loud and clear in my left. That's not something I'd ever expected to hear again. My hearing continues to show improvement and I'm so grateful for every bit of it that returns. I was out walking the pups this morning and a jet was flying right to left overhead. I easily pinpointed it whereas just a week ago I'd have had the most difficult time doing that.

Our hummingbird feeders are getting nearly nonstop activity lately. I don't think 30 seconds go by without at least one bird at one of our two feeders. I think we have a mating pair and one or two offspring. It's hard to tell but I did notice a smaller one along with an adult a couple weeks ago. I'm enjoying this because it seemed to take most of the summer before we had much activity from the little guys. I'm careful to replace the sugar water every few days.

Cindy, Tammy's sister, has been staying with us for the past two days. It's been nice chitchatting with her and catching up in ways that we don't typically do over the phone or through social media. They're in the sunporch watching Big Brother while I'm covering up the sound with Phil Collins, Face Value. I'll watch it later as it's my only guilty pleasures on TV these days. I know, pathetic!

Tammy and I had a few hours away today while Rachel, Cindy, and Elaine went out together. We thought about going into Minneapolis for a walk around Lake of the Isles but it felt too hot and humid for that so we opted for a stroll inside Mall of America. It's a spot we like to frequent but haven't taken the time to since Tammy's mom came to live with us a few months ago. We got some coffees and lost ourselves in conversation.

I was surprised at how much progress has been made with the construction on the north end. The entire food court has been redone and opened up to the north. I like what I'm seeing. The noise level at times made my hearing a little difficult so we decided to forgo the 3rd lap for the quiet of our car and lunch at Davanni's.

Mom's obituary is in today's StarTribune. Here's a link for however long it remains on file. I'll attach a screenshot of it below. Thanks, Tracee for doing such a nice job with it.