Thank you, Keri, for sharing your news and thoughts, your challenges and your faith. I am glad your mom is coming. God will help you, day by day, step by step. I am happy for Emily and Tallis, for the Protestant House, for all that God is going to do for her, for your mom and for you. I praise Him with you, for all His good promises.

Praying as you navigate the difficult changes with your mom. Rejoicing over the beautiful Emily and her journey and her new boyfriend. It’s refreshing to hear that relationships can still begin with Christ at the center, especially in these days. Love to you all. Your faith is encouraging !

I enjoyed seeing the photos of her concerts! Lots of changes for all three of you women. It sounds like a good solution, one that I am certain has been bathed in prayer. (And I finally got this app to work so I can see your news!) sending you lots of love!

I continue to appreciate your sharing your life events with all of us. Your faith is wonderful and seems to give you strength and hope as you live out your life in the "sandwich." The news about Emily is wonderful, exciting, and so positive. I am also pleased that events have unfolded that give you and your mother faith to make a change. As my husband and parents became frail, I found that I had to have faith that God would lead me to do the best that I could . I made some errors but I did what seemed to be the right decision at the time. I know that with your marvelous faith, you will do the same.

Thank you for sharing. As for downsizing, We found out about that almost 5 years agon after living in the same place for 48 years and raising 4 sons there. Nice to hear [see ] that Emily dates some one with the same christian values. Not all of our grandchildren did that and it shows. God bless. Warner.

Keri, lots of changes going on for you but seem to be positive. Yes, you are in the "sandwich generation" now along with being an ONLY child. That is something that I have in common with you, however I had BOTH parents to deal with their aging, changing and deaths. My parents were my very best friends so it was difficult. My Mom died first, but my Dad did not want to throw anything away. He lived in that home for 13 years before he died. He was a packrat and kept almost everything - - so we make 3 boxes - - 1 to pack and bring to our home, 1 to put into storage and 1 to pitch. My BIGGEST mistake was even getting a storage unit. That is the stuff that needed to be sold so I should have had an estate sale, but hindsight is always 20/20. Once we got everything moved to one of the 3 boxes, we were able to clean the house and see what touchups needed to be done so we could get them done, then put it on the market. The house sold fast so that was a blessing. When I walked out of it for the last time, I just hustled out the door and to the car like I was visiting. It was hard, but the memories of that home and what all I experienced in that home since I was 10 years old, I will cherish forever and that is the same with you. It is a difficult task and requires a lot of time. I feel for Arlene as she is not physically able to take one room at a time and get it done. She needs people that are physically strong and can help her out. She needs to be the "supervisor" of the project so that she can get it done to move forward.
It is a shame that you can't just move your Mom into your home when she is ready. Moving her twice is going to be hard on both you and her. Moving is an exhausting and time consuming job. Emily won't be there for a year, and her room would be close to you so you could hear her at night. Just thinking but I'm sure you have gone through all of the details. We are just now going through those boxes of my parents. Ken said that we need to have a garage sale, and he is right. Cierra has lost over 100 pounds so we have been boxing up her clothes that don't fit and taking it to a consignment place. That part has been easy, but now we will tackle my parents stuff and also the boxes that we packed up from Anna's apartment in MN. Your Dad is just not physically able to do stuff any more. I'm just hoping and praying that his latest cancer of the bladder stays quiet and slow growing, but time will tell. He is having a hard time going through this last surgery. It has now been over a week and the pain is starting to go away. Fortunate for you that you will have your ONE parent to care for in this last stage of life. It is draining all the way around.
We will be praying for everyone and wish you the best as you tackle the next 12 months of change. Take care babe and remember that we are here. Love you! ~Sheryl

Sweet friend, what a joy and a constant inspiration you are to me. I continue to be encouraged by and proud of you as you walk your journey. Please let me know how I can help with this transition with your Mom. I have some space in my life these days and I would be so grateful to be of use to you . Love and prayers always.

Your faith in our God who is faithful is a great encouragement to me.
My Mom moved in with us, and I helped her leave her home of 30 years. We sold some things we regretted and kept some things we later sold….only to say do the best you can in each moment of the process, knowing you can’t do it perfectly, and that the completion of the process is quite satisfying.
You and Emily are in my prayers, fellow pilgrims I am blessed to know.