It\u2019s very upsetting to lose a partner after forty years of marriage. Feeling lonely is something that happens right away, but it gets worse over time. It hurt more than anything else for me to feel alone after my husband Henry died of a heart attack. I was too sad to do anything else but be with my family. I have two boys, Jack and Edward. Edward moved to Oxford right after college because he was given the chance to study more. He calls me every night to talk about our days. Jack, on the other hand, lives not far from me. He is married to Lucy and has a son whose name is after my husband. Now that Henry bought this big house when we were just starting our family, I\u2019m living by myself in it. I\u2019ve been trying to decide whether to sell it, move out by myself, or live with Jack, as he offered. I chose to move in with Jack. It would bring me the most comfort. But I had no idea that Lucy had other ideas for where I would stay. When I moved in with Jack and his family, I asked my sister to help me pack up the old place. So, I was at their door with my bags at my feet. I was ready to live with Lucy as her mother and grandmother and take over the kitchen whenever she needed me to. Lucy opened the door for me with a coffee mug in her hand and told me that their house was so crowded that Henry Jr.\u2019s room was the only one that was good for use. She didn\u2019t want to change anything about the room, though. It was for Henry when he got back from college for a term. That made sense to me. I didn\u2019t want to be a bother because it was his place.<\/p>\n
I thought Jack would have taken care of things for me, though, since he asked me to move in if I needed to. \u201cCecile, we\u2019ve got a bit of a space issue, as you can see,\u201d Lucy echoed. \u201cYou\u2019ve got two options,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere is the basement, or there\u2019s a nursing home. Your call, grandma. \u201dYou\u2019re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Let me tell you about their basement now. There\u2019s no room that\u2019s been turned into a basement like you might find in some homes, so you can\u2019t use it for crafts, games, or sewing. It\u2019s not a den or a cozy place for guests. Jack\u2019s basement is more like a prison because it is cold and damp, and the bedframe sighs every time you move. The cushion has sharp springs. I didn\u2019t need this kind of comfort. \u201cLucy,\u201d I said, shuffling my weight from one foot to the other. \u201cI appreciate the options, dear. But I\u2019ll pass on the basement and nursing home combo. \u201dHere comes my son, trying to make peace. He walked up behind Lucy and put his arm around her waist. \u201cMom, I\u2019m sorry. I wasn\u2019t thinking when I invited you to stay. Lucy has a point. We\u2019re tight on space. I promise to get some furniture for the basement to make it comfortable for you. \u201dI didn\u2019t want to live in a basement. I wasn\u2019t ready for a nursing home yet. So I just did something about it myself. I pulled my bags to the car and drove to my niece\u2019s house. I stayed there for a week while I looked for a house to buy. The house was already for sale, and I knew I\u2019d have plenty of cash to buy a small apartment for myself after it was gone. My niece helped me move in after everything was set up, and I felt strong. I might not have needed family as much as I thought I did. Edward was worried about me being by myself, but I told him I would be okay. Not long after, I moved into my new apartment. It was a cozy one-bedroom, just right for me and the cat I wanted to adopt. Nice thing was that it was already set up, so I didn\u2019t have to think about anything. Then Jack called and asked Lucy and me to have dinner together. It made me wonder what they wanted from me as I drove to their house. As we ate dinner, I told them I had moved out on my own and bought an apartment. \u201cI thought you were staying with Mia,\u201d Jack said, referring to my niece. \u201cYou can\u2019t be serious!\u201d Lucy both yelled at the same time. \u201cI did stay with Mia until I moved. I needed my own space. \u201dIt turned Jack red when he said, \u201cYou said that you want to be around family, so I offered. \u201cYes, but if it meant being shipped off to a nursing home or having to stay in your basement, I think I\u2019m better off alone. \u201dAfter that, I left. After a few weeks, I got my cat. But I also changed my will to leave everything to Edward. Even though I told them I didn\u2019t need the money, he keeps putting it in my account every month. \u201cA son must help his Mom,\u201d he said. I said no to moving to another country with him when he asked. At least for now, I had to be close to where Henry sleeps. I went from having problems in the basement to having my own cozy home. Life sure does throw you for a loop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s very upsetting to lose a partner after forty years of marriage. Feeling lonely is something that happens right away, but it gets worse over time. It… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n