Spending a Few Last Days with Jean

Things are starting to change around me.  Jean moved to the Seattle area today.  She found a better job than the one she had here in Montana.  It's been kind of surreal seeing her pack up all her stuff at Gardiner and get ready to leave her condo in Belgrade.  She and I are about as close as a brother and sister even though she's my aunt.  Originally she came to Gardiner in 2008 to help me take care of Grandma.

Since Grandma's stroke in 2010, the circumstances have dramatically changed.  Jean no longer worked at the veterinary clinic she worked at when she first arrived; she'd been working at a nursing home.  Grandma's condition has pretty much stabilized and nothing really changes at the moment.  There's not a way for Jean to help Grandma right now.

I know that eventually Grandma's house is going to get sold.  I've been preparing for that.  Now that it's autumn, I'm getting the house ready for the winter.  I rolled up the hoses and put them away; I have drained the underground sprinkler system.  Up until recently I had been taking care of most of Grandma's paperwork and bookkeeping.  Because of a little Medicaid twist I've had to give those responsibilities to Dad.

I'm recognizing that pretty soon, we're going to have to pack up the house and do something with all the stuff here.  Jean and I have gone through most of Grandma's belongings and have discarded the aluminum foil, toilet paper rolls, and other needless things she saved for a rainy day.  At this point, what's in Grandma's house is going to get packed and stored or get divvied up to those who want those things.

Yes, things are slowly coming to a close for me in Gardiner.

Feeling a little nostalgic lately because I knew I didn't have very much time with Jean before she had to go, I made some cheesy chicken chowder for us on  Thursday, September 27.  It was one of the meals that we would make for each other, especially on cold winter nights on our days off.

I've always enjoyed cooking for Jean.  One of the main dishes that we would make on a regular basis was fish.  She liked the way that I seasoned and prepared it.  Often I would broil salmon or make some pan-fried tilapia.

In a place where I didn't always have a lot of friends in the area, it was nice to share with Jean.

On Monday, October 1, I met with her and we drove along Trail Creek Road.  She had wanted to do that for a long time, and since we never got to it, I thought that it was important to get it done then.  Autumn was in full swing out there; the trees were beautiful.

Autumn along Trail Creek

Trail Creek Road

After we got home, we rested for a little bit and then went to some of the coke ovens near Gardiner.  Coke is a product of coal, and was produced by the workers of a ghost town that used to exist across the river from me.  A hundred years ago, the city of Electric probably had about 7,000 people living there.  Today, only a few structures are left of that once-burgeoning city.  That night we got to see a beautiful sunset.  It was a lovely close to a nice day.

Jean sits in the opening of one of the coke ovens near Gardiner.

Trees are in their autumn foliage behind the foundation to the general store and payroll safe in the ghost town of Electric.

Sunset over Devil's Slide

Jean and I hiked to Natural Bridge Tuesday, October 2.  She hadn't been there before, and it was an easy-enough hike for her.  Afterwards, we drove to Old Faithful where we walked to Morning Glory Pool and saw other geysers like Giant, Grotto, and Grand.  A long time ago, people could drive to these geysers, but today it's a path with pavement and boardwalk.  In total, we walked about seven miles.

Natural Bridge

Sawmill Geyser soaked us as we walked past it.  We weren't expecting that!

It was the last beautiful day before bad weather arrived in Montana.  The next day was suddenly cold, and since then the weather has been more unpredictable.

Jean's last day of work was Saturday.  I saw her on Sunday, October 7 at lunch when her co-workers gave her a going-away dinner at IHOP.  She got some nice gifts from her friends at the nursing home.

Her last day in Montana was yesterday--Columbus Day.  I dropped off some stuff at her condo in Belgrade.  I gave her some gifts--a bottle of wine, some homemade chocolate chip cookies, and a gift certificate to Cold Stone Creamery.  I helped her pack her U-Haul trailer with the necessities of life.  Afterwards, I treated her to dinner wherever she wanted.  It's kind of funny that she just wanted a steak from Applebee's.  When we got back to the condo, I prayed with her before I had to go back to Gardiner.

I love her a lot, and I'm going to miss her.  She finally left the condo this morning.  I hope everything goes well with her as she heads to the west coast.