Passage Making

I lost my dad last Sunday.

It wasn't unexpected. He had been ill with Parkinson's for a long time. His last gift to us was to make his final journey on our schedule. We had dreaded the thought of choosing between delaying our departure to see him through his last days and leaving for our adventure knowing he might succumb at any time. Now, he has relieved us of that choice. Quite a gift indeed.

His passing came on the heels of celebrations marking Emily's high school graduation. Not a day went by for a solid two weeks without a party marking the occasion at one or another of her friend's. We got into the act by hosting a Memorial Day brunch for 50 people, mostly new graduates and their parents.

As a freshly minted graduate, Emily must now move ahead to live her life as an adult, with love and support from her parents and many others. She's enrolled in the LEAPYEAR program for freshman year, which promises to offer her all sorts of opportunity for new discovery, both physical and metaphysical.

My dad's graduation is more mysterious. When making an ocean passage, one leaves familiar surroundings destined for new discovery in a distant land. And so it is for my dad. His last journey took him from the known trappings of this life to the unknown sweep of God's golden shore.

And now it is our turn to strike out into the unknown. It's uncanny how recent events have punctuated the beginning of this new chapter in our lives.

We leave next Monday for Sweden and our new cruising life.