There is a sense of relief also when the thing you dread finally happens and you can move on. That old dog was a lot of work; the routine has suddenly simplified. I was shopping for fruit and veggies for three dogs (on top of their dry food), but with the big one gone I need half as much food because proportate to dog size, he got as much as the other two combined. When I tell them to eat I can step aside and sit on the arm of the sofa again; for months I've been propping up the back end of the old Lab so he didn't topple and knock over the contents of his bowl. (Oh my aching back!)

A goodbye lunch with a former colleague today; he's moving to Indiana to be near family and admittedly as a climate change escapee. He figures the summers in Texas aren't getting any cooler so he's moving while he can. After giving a tour at the museum I ran into another old coworker from the university who now works at a local public library. So much catching up with him and his partner; I hope to soon hear from a mutual friend of ours who I lost track of. So many stories from all of us. And the recommendation of a good auto repair shop and a couple of good restaurants.

I feel inspired to get moving with the eBay listings - my lunch friend did a lot of sales during COVID to clear out many useful but unneeded items. We concur that antiques aren't the valuable property now that they were when we were growing up or as younger adults doing our own collecting. Family heirlooms are harder to hand down to the kids.