My sisters and I met Sunday afternoon at the farm for an impromptu social gathering.
There are five of us, but only four could make it on short notice, and it was just us — no husbands, no kids, no grandkids and, of course, no Mom and Dad.
Mom died in September of 2019, and Dad died in August of 2020.
The sisters and our families spent a lot of time at the farm last fall going through things in the garage, toolshed and outbuildings.
But the house we left alone for now. It serves as home base for charting our next steps and for transitioning to our next stage of life as new matriarchs of the family.
A wave of nostalgia hit me Sunday when I opened the front door of my childhood home to the aroma of a hot meal.
For a second, I could see Dad at the kitchen table reading the paper and Mom at the kitchen sink peeling potatoes.
Lisa (the oldest sister) got there early to cook a ham and set the table with Mom’s good dishes and spring green tablecloth.
The rest of us showed up one at a time to add to the meal — a steaming casserole of cheese potatoes, fresh cut vegetables and dip, and a giant pedestal bowl of fresh fruit.
The colorful table was beautifully presented, and I briefly considered sending a photo to Mom. It would make her really happy to see her girls together for no reason other than to enjoy each other’s company.
She knew families who didn’t get along and siblings who didn’t speak to each other, and she said she was happy that we girls loved each other.
Also, she hoped we would continue getting together as sisters with our families even after she and Dad were gone.
On Sunday, as we each showed up at the house, we hugged — long, meaningful hugs. The kind that are discouraged during a COVID-19 pandemic.
And we sighed. A lot. In a way that said without saying, “This is the new us. This is how we will be from now on.”
We took our seats at the table, Lisa in Dad’s chair, I in Mom’s chair, and chatted about our holidays, about Lana’s recent vacation and Linda’s new living room furniture.
If this is the new way of things, we could tell the next generation was going to be just fine.
We held hands around the table and bowed our heads in prayer.
We thanked God for our blessings, we asked for forgiveness for our sins, and we prayed for guidance and mercy in 2021.
… Which, ultimately, isn’t a bad approach to the New Year and to our next phase in life.