the garden: pretty soon...

there will be just 2 of us that can
pick up a phone
or get on a plane
to visit in person with each other.

it feels very curious and strange.

As it looks right now
it will be the youngest and the oldest of us
to continue muddling about in this "sphere".

i just returned home from visiting
the sister who lives a continent away and
is in her final hours
although
she keeps surprising us
"rallying" as they say.
Gratefully, she stayed long enough for my big sister and me to visit
and bask in her smile and sparkling eyes.
The state of her mortal being confirms that she will depart, soon.
The last 8-9 years have not been kind to her body and mind.

She is 70-something.

So startling to acknowledge that number.

My niece
the one i chased on my hands and knees when she was 2
and i was 10
is a marvel and a wonder:
she teaches high school "home economics"
(or whatever they call it now)
full time
and has been the one to drive her mother, my sister
90 miles one-way to the doctor for chemo and the dozens upon dozens of other visits.
She is the one who has held down the fort
the 3 times her father was air-lifted to the hospital for his medical emergencies
while raising her 4 children
and juggling crazy family dramas, celebrations and church duties.
She laughs easily
it's a family thing we all cherish.
It's what has "gotten us through".
She is married to a gem of a man
who helped me cross the divide
between the sister i last visited in 2005 and who she is today.