The next chapter

I waved goodbye to the movers, and that closed another chapter in my life, written and in the books. That was Chapter 18, if I’ve counted it right. Eighteen places I’ve called home in my 71 years. I did the long division — that’s a smidge under four years on average I’ve spent in each place. All of a sudden, I feel like an army brat.

This last chapter was called “Hello, Washington,” in which the heroine left New Orleans behind for the Pacific Northwest. I was sorry to see my Chapter 17 end (actually, Chapters 16 and 17 spanned my time in New Orleans). New Orleans had been good to me. The city fit me like a glove, and I soaked it all up — the food, the music, the culture. Once it’s in you, it won’t let go; you take it with you wherever you go.

So, yes, I was sorry to turn the page on Chapter 17 but could hardly wait for the next chapter to begin, the one where I got to be a hands-on grandma. One of the best chapters of my life. I have yet to meet a grandma who thinks differently.

I’m not about to give that up, so “Still in Washington” will be the name of Chapter 19, where the heroine, now finished with writing her book — and no longer requiring a hermit’s life out in the boonies to get it done — relocates within hands-on-grandma distance but this time to a place closer to the action (in my case, Seattle). It will be good to catch some live music again.

And although it will cut into my grandma time, the next chapter opens up the possibility of more travel. Already, Chapter 19 looks like it’s going to be a good one.

Speaking of travel, here I am between chapters, in an intermission of sorts, contemplating my upcoming trip to Scotland and Ireland and on to Japan to do a bit of hands-on grandma with my other two grandsons.

Being single and 71 definitely has its advantages. Especially as a renter. Back when I last owned a home, it dawned on me that the minute I failed to pay my taxes, the government would take the house. I wasn’t a homeowner; I simply lived there at the pleasure of the government. What a disturbing thought. Then there’s also the part that if you’re going to move every four years, owning is probably not your smartest move.

I can hardly wait to see what’s around the next corner.

This week, Canada’s own, the late Ellen McIlwaine …