I don’t know what it’s going to feel like to walk into the house.
Her house.
It’s been 14 months since my mother-in-law died and in a few hours I’m going to walk into the house that was the last place she slept before she died. The bed she slept in will be there. All of her Christmas decorations. Her towels. Her dishes. All of her things are going to be there.
Christmas has been strange already.
I didn’t send her my itinerary, of course.
I didn’t call her on Christmas Day to thank her for a bounty of presents for the children.
I didn’t call her to tell her about the bracelet Clarke bought for me that I know she would have loved.
There are so many things I didn’t do—and then there are the things I am doing:
I think about what it will be like to walk over the threshold and into the foyer and know she isn’t going to be there to welcome me.
I think about the Christmases past and can’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
I can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like to be in her house without her. There will be nineteen of us together this year. One of my nephews was two days old when she died. One of my nieces wasn’t even born yet. And I know that every time I hold those babies part of me will be treasuring that feeling for Barbara, wishing she were there with us, doing what she loved most: being with her family and snuggling with her grandchildren.
I miss you, Barbara. I don’t cry every day anymore. But I still cry often. And this time of year, perhaps more than any other, just feels empty without you.
I was in Wyoming this past Spring at the court hearing for the man who was driving the truck that hit Barbara’s car and killed her. On a cold Spring dayI was in a car when I went over the exact place she died. It was a spot on a highway, a piece of asphalt in the midst of expansive vistas filled with mule deer and brown grasses. When I passed over that spot, identifiable by the mile marker on the side of the road I waited for it—something. I waited for a shift, a tingling, a sign that it was special. I wanted there to be something so that everyone who passed that mile marker knew that right there, at that spot, one of the most special people in my world died.
And yet, it was just road. Nothing happened. No one would have known.
This trip is different, though. Each and every one of us is going to feel the seismic shift when we walk through that front door this holiday season. In the same blink of an eye it took to cross the spot where she died, I will walk through the doorway and into her house.
It’s time. It’s time to feel that shift.
We keep moving on, but moving on does not mean forgetting. Moving on means weaving the feelings of grief and pain and sadness into our everyday lives.
We must keep going. We have kept going this year.
But it’s not the same. It never will be.
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Barbara always made Christmas so special. She was like a little kid when it came to holidays. I loved to go down the street to her house in Chadds Ford and see the enormous tree with those big Christmas balls on it.
L,J
There is no doubt you will feel the void of your dear mother-in-law’s absence. I would never be so bold as to not recognize that fact. What I do hope for you Lisa, is that you will feel her legacy. The joy of her spirit that will always be with you in your cherished memories. I wish you few tears as you walk into her house and see her things. Hold those babies tight and feel the good thoughts I’m sending your way. <3
Joanne
I am so sorry for your loss, Lisa.
Yes! Thank you for this. As I work through grief of my own — death, loss of friendship, marriage — moving on does not mean I have to forget. It means a lot of things, but forgetting isn’t one of them, for me anyway.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Lisa. I lost my mother-in-law, technically before she even became my official mother-in-law two months before my wedding back in 1995. My husband and I had dated for almost eight years before and his mother and I got very close. When she found out she had cancer, we set a date really quick, just not quick enough. She died in July, we got married in September and in October my mother found out she had cancer. She died in December. I’ve survived suckier years than this one.
I was thinking about you walking through the door. Wishing you strength and peace. I believe that even if you didn’t feel something special on that stretch of highway, you will in her home. She’ll be there with you, I believe that.
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. I consider finding you one of my best gifts.
Another touching piece, which I truly appreciate, Lisa. My girlfriend’s name is Barbara. Here mother, Ruth, passed away just a few short months ago. Thanksgiving and Christmas were both tough for Barb this year. The wounds are still fresh.
She would apologize for her tears and moments of sadness, when I would just say, “Don’t be silly. You’ve nothing to apologize for. You miss your mom. It’s OK.”
But we also had moments of joy and true celebration. My daughter and her son, both adults, joined us on Christmas Day – a very pleasant and welcome surprise. Mostly, we remember those who are gone, recall the celebrations when we were kids, and enjoy the time with those that are here. It is what Ruth would have wanted.