On The Level Consulting's Blog, On The Level Advice for Remodeling Professionals, is Back

We are back. I apologize for our unscheduled hiatus during the month of September. My father passed away on September 8th. It has been a difficult time, first dealing with an end-of-life illness and then with the funeral arrangements. My father had been sick for quite a long time with congestive heart failure. I thought that I had prepared myself for the inevitability of his passing but I found, as the moment grew nearer, that no one is ever fully prepared. I will say that Hospice is a wonderful, caring organization and they helped us through many of the twists and turns of end-of-life, allowing our family to spend time with my father.

I have found since my dad passed that life is now a series of making “new normals.” What I mean is that all of the routines and traditions that surrounded my family’s lives are changed forever. Some are huge changes like the mere fact that my dad is no longer around. And some are much more subtle, like the other day when I was in the Hallmark card shop and realized that I would never buy another birthday card for my dad. I find myself saddened and even teary at times by these “firsts” that I experience.

Yet I know that this is not the way he would want any of his family to live. He was a World War II and Korean War veteran, grew up during the Great Depression, migrated west during the Dust Bowl, and became legally blind due to macular degeneration. Yet he never complained, even toward the end of his life. He accepted his lot.

And I know that he would tell me to just start doing. Put one foot in front of the other and begin, once again, the spectacular journey of living.

And so I do. Some days it’s easy. Other days, it’s not. There is a large gap that cannot be filled. Yet I know that it will become easier to move forward as time, the perpetual healer, marches on.

We appreciate your understanding in our time of loss.

Annette Greco
On The Level Consulting