the last album by the great Leonard Cohen. I am listening to it now, it seems to fit with today. I went by the house today to put the garbage can out, return the original renovation plans for the next owner and get one last bottle full of Custom Pure water from the kitchen.

In the empty house, I said thank you and goodbye. Thank you for the shelter and the beauty, thank you for the warmth and the place where the last months were as good as they could be, thank you for the chance to have all of us under one roof, even if only for a holiday or two, thank you for the sanctuary, the chance to give my Mom the beautiful house she deserved. Most importantly, a thank you for the place of peace and sunlight for when she chose to go.

Then I said good bye. To the house, to an earlier version of myself and to West Seattle.

It seems I had one more stop to make in West Seattle, to my favorite painter and leader of the pack, Jan. Sitting in front of her Dog City, with one little dog in particular, Skittle, trying to get her attention through the window, we caught up on each other’s big plans and she’s given me a completely new angle to think about for my social enterprise empire. I have to tell GG first before I share it here 😉 GG likes to hear all my crackpot ideas first, just not when I come home at 230 in the morning!

I’ve packed all my bags, including the extra duffel I got at REI. It’s a small one, I just needed a little extra room this time. If only you could roll tortillas inside your shoes!

I woke up this morning to my phone blowing up with all kinds of messages, first day of the data science academy and there were some kinks to get out of the way. By the end of their day, everything was settled and it sounds like all 24 of our participants will keep going. In particular, there was debate over the upcoming holiday schedule like King’s Day, etc. It was quite funny since it was pre-coffee for me and my reaction was “I don’t give a damn about holidays. I am American, I expect us to work through them, the Academy goes on.” I lost the argument 😉 They will get King’s Day and Pentecost off. That means a long weekend for me too, so I can’t be too dismayed.

This afternoon, the Move Goddess and I nursed a couple of beers and talked about alot of things. In particular: journeys, faith and my Mom. I learned some new things today. That’s the gift that other people can give you, perspective.

There are so many women here who dress like my Mom did. I still find myself looking twice. The woman who will be repainting the house fits the type as well. I said “Towanda” to her and she got the reference right away. I know my Mom would approve of her handiness and attitude even if she would want to ask 57 questions about really matching that paint color. It feels good to leave the refresh in her hands. I hope when I am that age, I still have that kind of energy.

As for tomorrow, it will be one last pedicure, lunch with Sibelle and then off to the airport on my way home. I hear I am missed 🙂 I’ll go from the airport to drop off the suitcases and then right away to a meeting. I’m working with some people on a theater troupe that is composed of homeless people. We’ve been asked to help them think about venues, getting the word out and generally growing their audience share. It’s an interesting challenge to tackle since the audience needs to be small, less than 50 in order to preserve the spirit of the experience. I always had a yen for the stage so this is my way of contributing 😉