For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.

During the years when Dad lived with us, I hadn’t suggested doing anything about his house. To his way of thinking, it was still home. I wanted it to remain his until he decided to do something about it. Dad’s will left everything to me. Being his only child, the house, land, and everything else he owned was now mine. We'd been fortunate no one had broken in or caused damage, since the insurance company had canceled the insurance due to no one living there. The kids took a few things to remember their grandparents by. You let me know you’d support anything I decided, but any decision concerning the property would be up to me. I wasn’t anxious to rush into anything.

My cousin, Joy, who had been so much a part of my life off and on over the years, was telling me I needed to get away for a while. She urged me to reconsider going to Italy with her. Although we'd gotten back in touch and talked by phone, we had not actually seen each other since we were both in our early twenties. The trip was scheduled for early October. The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. I’d not really been anywhere in many years other than trips to Mississippi and back.

You told me if I wanted to do the Italy trip with Joy, I should go for it. I had some misgivings because I was nervous about flying so far from home, and I’d never been away from you for three whole weeks. Joy mailed me the information from the Grand EuropeanTour Company, and I decided maybe I'd earned the right for a bit of adventure. I mailed in the reservation and pre-payment with some guilt about leaving you behind. My dream of someday going to Europe looked as if it might come true.

Connie and Charlie had been living in an apartment across town from us. They were breaking the rule by having a kitten, which they were trying to hide because the apartment owner didn’t allow pets. During a routine pest control treatment, the kitten was discovered. They were given notice to either get rid of the cat or vacate the apartment. The man who owned the apartment where Carol lived had a basement apartment available below his living quarters, so Connie and Charlie grabbed it. They were now living next door to Carol. The apartment had two bedrooms, a great room, small kitchen combination and a bath.

Connie finally graduated from college in May with a BS in Interior Design. Charlie’s parents came for the graduation. The graduation class was large so the program took several hours. Afterward, we all went out to eat at a popular Japanese restaurant. Charlie continued to work in the lab at Memorial Hospital, and Connie begin working full time at the fabric and furnishing store in Dalton, Georgia where she had done her apprenticeship. The round trip to Dalton each day took a little over an hour of her time.

You and I both liked Charlie. He worked nights, and he seemed to enjoy talking about religion with you. He and I played on the computer when he wasn’t sleeping during the day. He even liked to write, and he shared his poems and stories with me. He and Connie argued a lot, but I think arguing or debating was a form of recreation for Charlie. He seemed to enjoy it. I'm not so sure Connie did, but she was trying to adjust. Once they moved, they began attending a small church in nearby Ringgold, Georgia. They even talked of buying a house in Ringgold.

Carol was still agonizing over Roy, the guy she’d fallen for, but he was giving her mixed signals. He didn’t seem to know what he wanted. At times, she felt he was using her, and it didn’t seem their relationship would be more than friendship. She still had Kim for a roommate. Her friend Randy thought he was in love with Kim. It seemed Kim wasn’t interested in Randy, and Roy had started seeing another girl, so Carol and Randy spent time commiserating over their disappointing relationships. Love seemed to be extremely complicated for our children. I can’t remember our dating time being so traumatic. We just got married and got on with life.

You’d been wanting to buy a new car for a while, and Charlie had gotten you interested in a Subaru. We’d hesitated about getting one while Dad lived with us because the seats were higher, and it would be harder for Dad to get in. Now you decided to go ahead and buy a new white and silver Subaru Outback. We both loved it.

Carol had decided Christi seemed to have so many relationship problems that she might benefit from a program she had gone to herself earlier in Kentucky. Carol had gone there to combat her depression and co-dependency shortly after her divorce. This place dealt with all types of addiction problems. Carol wanted to use some of the money she earned as a nurse having to work on the Sabbath to help others, and so she convinced Christi to spend two weeks at The Bridge. She drove her to Bowling Green and and promised  to pick her up later.

In August, Kimberly who was pregnant for the second time, gave birth to another little girl. She named our second grandchild, Summer Elizabeth Jane. The names following Summer, which she would be called, were from her two grandmothers. Like Don and Kimberly did with Lauren, they once again used a midwife for the delivery. Kimberly wanted all her family and friends there for the birth. This was different from my own choice. I didn’t want anyone seeing me in such an awkward position other than the doctor, and you weren't allowed to stay for the actual delivery. I pretty sure you were okay with being sent to the waiting room.

This was the first live birth I'd ever witnessed. When I delivered our children, I didn't get to see the actual birth. You and I were there with the rest of the crowd for this birth, but you chose not to watch. I almost freaked out when Summer came out, because she wasn't moving or crying. Her skin was dark red. The midwife had to work with her a while before she started to look alive. Kimberly was a trouper. She walked around until the baby was crowning. She never let out a whimper. I didn't scream either when I gave birth, but I'm sure I did some groaning. I think this is as close to the most painful thing a human can endure without anesthetics. Kimbery made most of us women look like wimps.

While our lives had taken a new turn, the world outside had continued along its steady pace. In Great Britain, Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister. Here in America, Ellen DeGeneres had shocked her fans by announcing she was gay. This was a time when such an announcement was still newsworthy. I’m sure it would hardly raise eyebrows today. Donald Trump and his second wife, Marla Maples were getting a divorce. In less than a month, news more shocking than any of this would come from across the pond, but I’ll leave the memory of this for another day.

• THIS IS US:
  Evan is 68 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
  Beth is 59 and has given up working in the printing field and is home taking care of her disabled father.
  Carol is 33, recently divorced, and a nurse, working at a hospital in Chattanooga and living in an apartment.  
  Don is a twin. He is 33, a recent graduate of Life Chiropractic College.
  Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical company and doing massages on the side.
  Kimberly is Don’s wife. She is a nurse working at a Chattanooga hospital.
  Lauren Elizabeth Jane Shelby is Don and Kimberly's baby, age two.
  Connie is our youngest daughter. She is twenty-three. She has graduated from college and is working as interior design.
  Charlie is Connie's husband as of June 30, 1996. He works as a lab tech in Memorial Hospital.
•  Kim is Carol's roommate. Randy and Roy are her friends. Joy is my cousin and friend who lives in Florida.