TheBanyanTree: Paddy next door

[NancyIee at aol.com]

Anita,
As you said, today's society is not like the neighborhoods of old.   People 
don't buy a house and live in it until death. Paddy was old school, and  
the world changed around him, and was no longer the place of his youth. I  
believe the average length of stay on one home, in this country, is five or six 
 years.  People get married, move, get a job far away and move, have  
children and move, children grow up and leave, and everyone moves.
 
Paddy's wife died, and then he was living with a grown son he didn't want  
to disturb too much. It must have made him feel like a guest in his own  
home.  If he chose his own way of leaving, at least there is a dignity and  
empowerment in that. He would have hated a nursing home, the sale of his  
lifelong house, the feeling of being a burden as he aged.  Other than the  house 
and the lingering love for his wife, he had no other stability.  He  was 
alone, without his wife, and so he managed to change that for his  betterment.
 
You could not change it, even if you had done those things you regret not  
doing.  Simply appreciate the memory of knowing such a steadfast man.
 
NancyLee
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