For nine years, I had taken the right turn at the top of Grandview Drive onto Joseph Avenue, once a week, sometimes several times a week, to visit Mom and Dad. For the last 26 years, it was to visit Mom after Dad passed away in 1999. There was nothing noteworthy about taking that turn onto Grandview. It was simply the last turn a few seconds away from pulling into the driveway. There were countless reasons for me making the trip: mowing the lawn, raking leaves, shoveling the driveway, washing my car, or doing menial tasks around the house to lend a hand. Mostly, it was simply to visit my parents. I'd be treated to a home cooked meal, watch a game on television amid conversation with Dad, or spend Sundays and holidays with other visiting family members. Over the last two and a half decades, it was to see Mom, enjoy her company, and usually be fed something a hundred times better than my usual diet of microwavable and take-out food. But now everything's changed, and things will never be the same again. Mom died last September.
