A Few Final Thoughts

It’s been more than a year since I sat down to start ‘K444’ and there are a lot more stories to tell. Like how the carrot flew through the kitchen window, the day my brother turned a picnic table into kindling, my first go-kart and the ‘Treetop Swayers Club’. Those stories will wait for another day, perhaps soon, perhaps much further down the road. Maybe some of my crazy siblings will pick up a pen and add to the story. I’d like that!

A lot has happened since 2023. Thankfully the Covid symptoms did subside at about a year as the doctors predicted, though I have learned to live with a constant sore throat and sinuses draining down the back. Brain fog has subsided and I feel better about life in general.

I am still a bit of a hermit, keeping well clear of people, especially those with a cough or visible ‘bug’. Ottawa still has a scabillion feet of snow on the ground, though it is 6 degrees today so there is hope Spring is on the way.

My Mom passed away last month at 98 years young. I feel bad that I wasn’t there but 3000 miles is a long way. I know Dode and JL were there at the end, and I know that Mom liked it that way.

JL lives across the road from Our House these days and Dode lives in Gran’s Cottage, Pen is in Vancouver and Pam in The Fraser Valley. Dick passed away a few years ago, shockingly young at 69!

One day there will be more stories, hopefully the next time around the kitchen table and not on my website.

July 31st, 2025 – 7277 days after I last saw Oyster Bay in my rearview mirror, Sam and I touched down in Comox for a long awaited visit home. This time we are here for my Mom’s memorial service and celebration of life, as well as some much needed R+R. How the world has changed since Sam was roaring around the front deck of the cottage in his Weebly-Wobbly! This trip is about sampling Dick’s GF Fish and Chips, walking on the pier and maybe even some beachcombing! And it is about family. We are all getting older, closer to the finish line than the starting gate. And it was time, long overdue for a visit to where I grew up – in the shadow of a rusty boat.

Peace and Take Care of Yourself!
Mark

p.s. Miss Frieda says “Hi!”