A year ago today my stepmother Phyllis, Dad’s wife, died. Obituary here. She pretty much gave up on living after Dad died a month before her in 2022. Her passing marked the end of a long, hard period that started in late 2019 as my brothers and I moved them out of their “independent” home and into long term care. Then came COVID, isolation, and illness, particularly for Dad. It all came to an end in 2022.

At every step along the way I think we did the right things for them, but it’s hard not to look back and second guess. Could we have done more? Should we have intervened earlier? Should we have moved them to Louisville where more family could have been with them? They both said they didn’t want to leave eastern KY. I hate it that their last three years on this planet were dominated by COVID and the resultant isolation.

I miss them both, but I don’t miss the complex, gut-wrenching decisions and actions of the 2020-2022 period.