Last Friday we said goodbye to the house we grew up in. With the three of us having our own lives (and homes), Mom decided to rent out her empty nest as she ponders on the eventuality of selling it. I get sad thinking that while it is still our house, it's now somebody else's home, and all of the memories of our childhood, teenage years, even the memories of my first years of marriage in that house are -- how do I put it? -- tainted, struck over by the presence of complete strangers...

This morning we took Mom to the airport for her flight back to Brisbane. Her one-month stay was just too short, most of it spent on clearing out the house. How do you clear out 20 years of stuff in four weeks, anyway? We didn't even have the chance to do the stuff we used to do together.

Then tonight, we said goodbye to Everest, the first ever brand new car we owned. Selling her felt like losing a member of the family. The five of us stood a long time watching her until she disappeared from view. (The last time I felt like this was when we sold our Nissan California, our first car.) I know I would wax sentimental seeing her on the road driven by somebody else...

Three goodbyes in just three days? My heart can only take so much heartbreak.