The Bell Tolls
Three major events in my life in the space of a few days have left me just a little bit breathless this month.
First was the passing in mid-August of my 104-year-old stepmother, the last surviving relative from that generation. I am now first in line to meet the big guy. The end was as good as it could be in such circumstances. We had all been to see her in July while in the UK, we had hugged and kissed and because she knew it was her time, and we did too, there were some tears. From the next leg of our holiday, in the USA, we sent her a postcard showing the sites of Washington. On return to Hong Kong just a week later we could discuss it with her on our weekly phone call. A few days later she slipped away.
A switch of generation at the end of August, when I said goodbye to my daughter and drove her plus a mountain of belongings off to the residential college where she will spend the next two years. After that will come three or four years in university somewhere, I suppose. It’s no good telling me it’s just half an hour away by car and we can see her for lunch every Sunday, it might as well be a million miles. The fact is, she’s left home at 16 and I miss her. My baby girl is now a young woman.
Finally, at the beginning of September I severed my links with the executive search firm where I have been based for the past five and a half years. I enjoyed working there, I thought I was quite good at it, but the feeling was not shared by enough potential employers. I hear you, and I’ve moved on to other things.
So, three big events in a short space of time. A reminder that life is never still and nothing lasts forever.
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