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Last sunrise, Cedar Park, TX, 2023
Prologue
Who doesn’t remember one especially poignant sunrise in a lifetime?
My eyes met such karma in Summer 2023. Arrived 9 June, in Cedar Park, Texas, to say goodbye to my mother Anna Katherine. I spent the night in her studio watching over her as she slept.
The next morning at sunrise, I walked to my sister’s home a few miles away. This is what I witnessed en route.
A few days later, she was gone.
Anna Katherine Rowell Byrd
3 April 1922-12 June 2023
The cerulean pool, Great Falls, VA, 2023
21 June 2023
Thirteen days after Mum's death, on 21 June, I flew to rural Virginia seeking respite. An artist friend had invited me to stay in her dreamy home while she was away. A sister-friend met me there. She kept me company.
We talked for hours, swam in this cerulean pool, created lovely eats, and drank very good wine. On our long walks with a magical dog, deer espied us from the shadows and bursts of wild blackberries ripened before our eyes.
Brian and me at the Peace Corps office in Washington, DC, 2023
27 June 2023 Washington DC
My friend drives me to DC where I spend the day with my nephew Brian Byrd. Veggie breakfast burritos and iced lattes. Biking and reminiscing.
We both belong to the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer tribe. Brian, four years in Paraguay. Moi, two, in Côte d’Ivoire.
We find ourselves at a job fair. Where will our wanderlust take us next?
1 July 2023
Today's Destination: Madison, Maine. Cousin David comes to fetch me in his 4x4. We drive north east for an essentialist family reunion at the home of my mum’s brother Bob Rowell and his wife Mary.
There we meet my cousins to share stories. I bring bygone photos. Each cousin stands in for one of Mum’s brothers—Amy, for Richard, David, for Ashley, Larry, for Charles. Bob and Mary’s Audrey is with us, too. I am here for Anna Katherine. We feel the wholeness of the moment. Remembering lives well lived.
Anna Katherine at Tide Point, Baltimore, MD, 2010
How to live the best possible life?
My mother designed hers mindfully, and lived until the age of 101. Three non-negotiables gave her sparkle.
🌱exercising
🌱eating well
🌱taking time for a daily devotional
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