what happens next, and also something nice

[chelseagirl]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Funeral home hours are today and service is tomorrow. My cousins are coming from Ohio but I did not bring M because I wanted to focus on Mom and her needs and honestly? She frets so much over company and would be worried about feeding M and if the house was clean enough and just no. My BFF wanted to come to and I said the same -- his ashes will be interred downstate in our family plot next spring and I'll count on them then. Plus we could only afford one last-minute airfare, with all the traveling we already had scheduled (ironically, my two train trips here plus a quick visit to LA to see a friend of M's who was widowed last summer and is not doing so well). I'll be fitting in a monthly visit to mom forevermore, as I'm worried about her on her own -- she does have a support network but rarely reaches out to them. At least once Aunt Isabel's estate is finally settled (soooon!) she'll have funds if she decides assisted living or some kind of senior housing would be a good idea. They didn't even get around to running through all their own funds for Dad.

All credit due to havocthecat for mentioning Scrivener again. In need of some distraction, I downloaded it -- and it is EXACTLY what I need to get the new draft of my mystery up and running. I have historical background documents, I have the previous draft, because I let it go after shifting gears to the project currently known as Courting Anna back in August, I have forgotten stuff like which minor character is named what. Plus there are digital resources to create a map of NYC in the time period I'm writing, so I'm going to do that and this system will so help me to organize in a way that opening endless Word documents has not. So while my concentration is not the greatest, I have been enjoying going through the interactive training manual and saying to myself "Yes! I can use this!"

I only wish I'd been using this (if it existed then) when I was writing my dissertation -- how helpful that would have been! (I still have a filing cabinet drawer filled with documents from diss days, which really need to get recycled now, as I am never turning my diss into a monograph and I've already published the best chapters as articles.)

Comments

[ancarett]

I'm glad that Scrivener is proving so engaging with promises of being useful. I hope that all goes smoothly as you assist your mother. Life keeps us busy, no?

[chelseagirl]

So very very busy.

Mom's doing pretty well so far, though she got anxious last night and couldn't sleep. As soon as she heard me in the kitchen, starting in with a barrage of legal questions. After this visit (#3 of winter break and I am grateful we don't start until after MLK Day) I'll be coming up monthly, but I'm worried about that being enough. I'll be on the phone with her every day, and I'm hoping at least a few of the friends who came out for the funeral home and the funeral will follow through on their promises to keep up with her.

[scripsi]

I'm only now catching up with posts. I'm so sorry for your loss! <3

[chelseagirl]

Thanks! He was 87 and he'd been fading for a few years now, but we didn't think it would be quite this soon. It's mostly missing him and worrying about my mother on her own now . . . she's fully capable, but she's never lived alone before.

[scripsi]

I imagine it must be a difficult transition to cope with as well as losing a souse. I hope she'll find her feet! <3

[lunabee34]

Hugs

Keeping you in my thoughts.

[chelseagirl]

Thanks!

[skieswideopen]

I missed the previous post. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[chelseagirl]

Thank you!

[silme13]

Your aunt's estate isn't settled yet? OMG!

I'd glad your mom won't have to worry about money issues. That's something at least.

Is the train a lot cheaper than the flights? I know the train takes longer, but I'm guessing it's cheaper. I can't remember if you have to be on campus Friday afternoons/Monday mornings.

You know, speaking of history, I had this crazy idea whilst walking about the Salterns yesterday, of doing research and trying to write some sort of fiction about Lymington in the 18th century in the heyday of the saltworks. In my copious spare time one day. Maybe. ;)

[chelseagirl]

She had money tucked in lots of different places and she'd named my mother executor and I had to do so much work and the lawyer filed FOUR times before we got me named administrator and just yikes. Then I was so exhausted from it all that I just didn't deal for about six months in there. But we're in the home stretch.

Oddly enough, though mom completely couldn't deal with Isabel's estate, she's already dealt with all the pensions and banks and everything re. Dad, within the week.

The train is significant cheaper. It is also more comfortable. It also leaves from Manhattan and the only reason I stand on line beforehand is because I want a window seat with a view of the Hudson. The flight is an hour, but by the time I get out to Queens to an airport, get through security, wait to board, etc. it's like a 5 hour trip anyway. During the semester I sometimes fly from Newark which is easier if I'm going straight from campus instead of home, except my last Newark flight was delayed by four hours and I got to the house around 2:30am. Whereas on the train, there's only occasionally a delay if they have to let a freight train through, it's comfortable, and I can read or work or play on my phone or just put on headphones and watch the view. No contest, as long as I have the time, and as I said, the time differential is less than it first appears . . .

The historical novel project sounds interesting. Maybe at some point you'll transfer your energies from some of your medieval research to that . . .