It’s a brand new year and I’m so glad to reconnect with all of you! When I wrote my last post in May of 2017, I shared a wonderful video about how avocados grow, which was filmed on our ranch last March. If you missed it, here it is:
I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be posting again until 2018. If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter you have seen much of what I’ve been doing since last May. I just haven’t been ready to get back to writing here on the blog until today.
Last summer, after a long life very well lived, my mother called late one Friday afternoon to tell me she was “checking out”. At nearly 97 years old, she was ready. Her caregivers and loved ones recognized the signs that her time was near. Her body was tired and her spirit was ready to move on. She was able to call each of her children, and not one of us could ask any more of her. No one knew how soon that time would come. I planned to be with her in just a few days, but by the time I arrived, she was gone.
Understanding the inevitability of death, and then realizing that your own loved one is not coming back are two different things. Each of us must accept our own reaction when the time comes. I needed time to spend in our family home in Vermont, going through family photos, discovering family history, and thinking about how to make some changes of my own that might balance the changes that happen outside of our control. I’m still working on it.
So I stopped writing Mimi Avocado blog, and waited until I felt ready to write again. I arrived back in California to welcome our second grandchild, a darling baby girl in September. We flew back to Vermont in October to gather with family and friends to celebrate my mother’s life. November and December were a flurry of concerts, family gatherings, and playtimes with our grandson. Somehow I managed to give a presentation at the national conference for Les Dames d’Escoffier about avocado farming.
I’m thankful to have been able to take time off when I needed it, and grateful to all of you who are still here. I plan to resume writing about life on our farm, the amazing process of growing food, sharing great recipes, and telling stories about the places I visit. I want to introduce you to people that I meet along the way, and I hope you’ll share your experiences and stories with me too.
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