The Baboon Congress

The Lasts

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Today’s post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale

We are nine days out from our move to Winona, and they are coming fast and furious now – the Lasts. I have been to my last Board and Committee Meetings; Husband has been to his last Story Theater rehearsal. We have been to last practices for two choruses. Yesterday eve we hosted our last Annual Circle Dance Potluck in the back yard. Sniff.

It is a bittersweet time. It feels good to be relieved of some of these responsibilities, but saying good-bye to so many wonderful characters, who have been a regular part of our lives, is… hard. Been in this city for 31 years, and in this house for 27. We’ll be only 2½ hours away, and can come back to visit. But a visit is not involvement in the same way. We leave behind a rich set of experiences and people.

We’re into serious packing now, it’s really starting to look weird around here… that tripping over boxes stage. Still to come are things like packing up the Last Box, or removing the Last Piece of Furniture. Then in a couple of weeks we’ll come back to clean the Last Closet, wash the Last Window, and remove the Last Bits of Stuff.

What is a Last Time event or occurrence that you would welcome?

125 thoughts on “The Lasts”

        2. Suicides are heartbreaking. The grief of survivors compounded by so many conflicting emotions. So sorry for you loss and pain, Wes.

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    2. you might have better luck with a spirital hug today than you woul have with a phsical one if the concept was foreign one growing up. my feelings about contacting souls after they are gone continues to move into a more twilight zone type of existane as time ges by

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    3. i am sorry wes
      april was a tough month and only a month ago
      i hope you are ok. its a tough tough thing to deal with.
      we now you as the new guy here on the blog and you are a joy. the life that goes on outsde the blog is a different world than the one we share here but its not.
      peace
      thanks for being here with us
      know that we care.

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  2. The last student loan payment. I should be old enough that loans are all paid off…except grad school happened. And then Husband’s grad school happened (and his was more expensive). So loan payments. Will pop champagne and perhaps attempt a cartwheel when the last payment gets sent.

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      1. Years. Parts of Husband’s are eligible for forgiveness if he stays working in the non-profit public sector for ___ years. That will happen long before we could pay everything off. Not something you really think about when you are signing the paperworkk.

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    3. I feel your pain. Long after my undergrad and grad loans were paid off, I went to paralegal school and acquired yet more debt. This one, unfortunately, is a private student loan, with higher interest. I still have around 5 years left on it. I plan on celebrating the end of it by never getting into debt again!

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  3. When I left the Midwest (exactly two years ago) I refused to do The Lasts. Just refused. When I left my pink bungalow I drove away without looking back. The last time I visited my correspondent friend I didn’t say goodbye. The big one was driving out of Minnesota without acknowledging it was the last time I’d be there. That was my choice. Others–perhaps because they are less haunted by the past–make other choices.

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    2. I have posted this quote before, but it seems to fit here:
      I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can. Never turn back and never believe that an hour you remember is a better hour because it is dead. Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance.
      – Beryl Markham

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  4. I should explain the photo at top, since you can’t see the caption, which is One Last Limb. This is the big box elder in the back yard – one reason I wanted this house. It still puts out plenty of foliage each season, but all the other limbs have given it up.

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  6. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    The last time I set up payroll for the practice, although I still don’t have a date. However, I am anticipating this greatly! Someday.

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  7. Morning all. Since I whined and whined last night about not wanting to go to work today, I suppose the last day I have to drive to the office is something I’m looking forward to. Although I don’t hate my job, I do wish that all my time were my own!

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    1. I hope you someday have so much free time, vs, that you consider it a problem. Having a job means you have something to do and people to talk to, so I mostly liked work. What I was damned glad to be done with was commuting. Commuting is awful for most people most of the time. In Minnesota there is the extra agony of starting a car in subzero weather (we all can think now of Tom Keith’s sound effects for that) and driving on icy roads in rush hour traffic. I miss work, but not commuting.

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  8. The last colonoscopy I have to have…I asked the doctor at the previous one if I would ever be old enough to not have to have one…he said, “no.” then he added “107 and since you are Norwegian you may make it…” In the meantime, another is due next year.

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    1. I once put the description I wrote about my colonoscopy on the internet. I was horrified years later when a close friend found it. It is still out there, somewhere, but buried so deeply that nobody will ever find it.

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    2. Keep in mind, Cynthia, that whatever medical tests you subject yourself to are voluntary. The medical establishment may have recommendations as to what tests you should have, but it’s up to you whether or not you do.

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      1. theyve pulled stuff out of me two for two and said they saved my ass for sure. the first time i went in they told me i would need to leave my car for the day adn couldnt drive after the anestesia and i had a full day planned so i passed on the anesthesia the second time i told em to do it again and they looked at me in horror like the doctor hadnt doent at nbefore. i found out why he wasnt very good at it. i thought because the first doc had done it so seamlessly that it was a piece of cake. nope the second guy was ready to put me under so he could get it doent he way he like to s=do it. i had to talk him thorugh it. it was pretty funny. the nurse was splitting a gut watch me coax him through the operation.

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  9. The last dog. No more dogs for us. We have enjoyed having dogs and we still have a dog. He will be the last dog. We will hang in there with the dog we have, although anyone who wants him can have him right now. He is a very friendly dog with some bad habits including barking at anything and everything. If you have a fenced yard and don’t mind hearing a lot of barking, he would be great. I will be glad when I am done taking this dog for his walks where he barks loudly at every dog he sees and at many other things.

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    2. Well, I have a barking dog here, too, and I know two things. One, this will be my last dog. Two, I won’t be the one to take your dog, Jim.

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  10. Hello Troupe–

    Can I talk about seasonal ‘lasts’?
    When I finish working up the last field in the spring I don’t celebrate nearly as much as I do when I actually finish planting the last field. Then I do a little cheer and ‘jazz hands’ in the tractor. And I always pat the tractor on the tires and say thank you to the digger or planter.

    Next week I’ll be done in the theater for the summer. I spend a few minutes alone in the dark theater thanking it for all the work and acknowledging a break for both of us.
    I have a kiddy dance show in here Sunday; that will be the last event for me. (until Fall). There’s a few events over the summer that I’m not working. (except possible phone support)

    Making our sons last tuition payment was good. That we appreciated!
    Paying off any loan gives a huge sense of relief; tractor, bank, car… always nice to be out from them.
    I remember once we were debt free for about 3 weeks. Then I bought something else… 🙂

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  11. I am really looking forward to my last day of work and start retirement — although that will be many years off. I’ll probably still have to work as a WalMart Greeter even after retiring …. 😦

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    1. you have been looking forward to finding a job you liked since i met you. i guess if you cant find it you look forward to being done i will hold out hope that something you love will come along

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  14. i dont have any last times i am thinking about right now.
    maybe the last tim i have to see donald trump for a while i believe he like w will disappear after his political embarassment.

    i bet ill be back

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  15. I am 28 years into a 30-year mortgage. At first it didn’t seem as if the balance was going down much at all, but now it’s at the point where almost all the payment goes toward principal. I’m not sure if I will still keep the loan down to the last payment – I’d like to refinance all my loans into one and maybe take a little extra cash for home improvements. Hard to get someone to lend me money, though – I have lots of home equity but not enough income to be considered capable of managing the payment.

    I did pay off one of my home improvement loans two months ago, so that’s one less payment to make. I was happy to see the last debit leave my checking account.

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  16. I can’t think of any lasts that I look forward to. Most lasts that fall in that category happened years ago: last mortgage payment, last car payment, last day of work. These days, lasts tend to be rather terminal events.

    For the last many years Hans and I have celebrated Memorial Day with a rather old – age wise- bunch of friends. Yesterday was no exception. Some years Hans has documented the event with a group photo of the participants, and each year someone else is missing from the photo. Who’ll be next? Hard to say, but you know that when the next birthday for one of the guests is his 90th, and several more are in their late eighties, clearly this celebration won’t go on forever. One member of the group is in precarious health, and has been for a long time, so despite the fact that he’s one of the younger members of the group, he’s a constant reminder to not take anything for granted. I hope when the time comes that my last breath is peaceful.

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    1. i hope to make eddies but have not been able to so far. life is too short to miss the good stuff.
      iwas told years ago that we only get 10 perfect as a year in minnespta and most of them are in april and may before humidity and bugs take their pound of flesh out of the equation. i have because of this made sure to take a moment i would have not taken otherwise because you can not go back. the time is now and you have to savor the moment you live in regardless of what the alternative tells you. i am so busy trying to ge the new agenda i am fashioning into the proper motion it is easy to forget that life needs to be acknowledged and enjoyed.
      i hope it hangs on another year or two.

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      1. I’m afraid The Eddies’ days are numbered as a performance group. Last year one of the group members dropped out, and another moved to Minneapolis. This year’s attendance was down, and weather wasn’t exactly cooperating. This year was the 18th annual gathering, I’m hoping they’ll hang in there for at least another couple, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

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        3. if you move to minneapolis you can still associate with people form saint paul , you just have to remember to talk slow and be prepared to repeat things

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        6. I give up, ljb, I’ve tried five times to give you an answer, and each time when I press enter, I get a message that something or other has been reset while I’m typing, and the whole message is lost.

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  17. I’ll be very grateful when the last box has been carried up the stairs. My new place is vertical. I have been carrying stuff up from the garage to the third story for weeks. I have very little storage space now so some things which have gone all the way up are coming all the way back down again. I decided to sell my Takamine guitar this morning. I just have too many instruments.

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      2. a takemine is a recent addition to the world. its not anything but a real nice instrument. it is the best value out there. not to expensive , not to cheap but the quality is way above average. martins offering to the world as repayment for the good fortune they have found as the maker of quality guitars in the world. they took the knowledge and craftsmanship and offered a everymans wonderful instrument

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  19. Our son went to Luverne to place flowers on my parents’ graves this weekend. He stopped at the grocery store where the display for the “Last Man’s Club” is hung on the wall in the coffee shop.. It is a rack with 20 or so coffee cups, one for each man ( all Second World War veterans) and a bottle of boubon. The cups are emblazoned with the names and branch of service for each member. The cup is turned upside down when a man dies. Only three upturned cups remain. I know all three men, all in their late 90’s. The last man gets the bourbon and has to drink a toast to his comrades. Bittersweet.

    We are finally home. I have posts galore in my head. They wil begin once the jet lag subsides. Our plane was delayed in Minneapolis last night due to maintenence problems and we didn’t get to Bismarck until 2:00 am.

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    3. i would suggest teh last three start having a nip in honor of the other 17 on either memorial day or another special day maybe the 3 birthdays. it is better to drink to the memories of the others as a group than as a lone survivor. my great grandfather said that was the hardest part of getting old. all his golf buddies kept dying. he knew he was getting clost to the end when they were all gone

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  20. I have already enjoyed some lasts – last day (or, more correctly, last night) of work, last mortgage payment, last car payment (until my ten year old Ion needs to be replaced). Having just scheduled my colonoscopy, I wish it could be my last one but am hoping it won’t be. One last that I don’t want to face is the last time I can play piano. I am starting to have some hand/finger issues that could eventually make it hard to play well.

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  23. I wish that I’d come on board before 1:30 AM because probably no one will even see my post. My last day of chemo/radiation at the cancer center was a real high. I told my oncologist that I had a gift for him. Before I went into the exam room, I handed a nurse a singing card “Do a little dance, make a little love”, telling her to open it when we emerged. What I didn’t know was that she’d gather the entire staff to witness my “gift” to the doctor.

    When we came out, the nurse opened the singing card, and I danced unabashedly as I always do. High kick, going down to the floor, ass-swinging dance. The shocked doctor reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his iPhone, and asked if I’d do it again so he could record it.

    He then hugged me, saying, “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.

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    3. CB, may I ask – was that oncologist Dr. Mark Wilkowske? If so, he would have blushed a deep red when he was younger. He was a shy kid.

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      1. Yes, it was. This doctor is the head of Park Nicollet’s oncology and the most introverted man I’ve ever met. I worried a bit about his reaction to my bizarre gift, but, in the end, he was clearly delighted.

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  24. My sister (coming from a much drier California) was amazed at how lush and green everything is. I’m looking out at a rich display of flowers here. New question:
    When was the last time you smelled a flower, and which flower?

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  25. That’s easy for me this time of year – this morning! One of the benefits of turning your lawn into a big flower garden is that there are ALWAYS flowers to smell. Right now I have peonies and MANY varieties of iris in bloom as well as all the hanging baskets that Young Adult and I did this year. Wonderful.

    OT – anybody want me to pick up a copy of Chris’ book for them tomorrow?

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    3. I have my copy, VS. Looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, I will never be able to have Chris autograph it, since I bought the ebook.

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  26. Haven’t been outside yet this morning, but last evening the air was full of Honeysuckle and Lilacs…brought a bit of lilac back into the house with me so now it smells like flowers (well, until I added pancakes and coffee to the mix).

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  27. Yesterday. My William Baffin rose is blooming – two weeks earlier than usual – and I can smell the roses when I walk to and from the back door.

    A few years ago someone gave me a small shoot of a lilac bush – this spring was the first time it bloomed. So I got to smell that earlier this spring – the few blooms that there were.

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  28. Easy. Yesterday I cut a few peonies, some John Cabot roses, and picked some lilies of the valley. The fragrances of the peonies and roses are faint, but the lilies of the valley pack a punch. Love this time of year.

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  29. It’s fun to take my mom on a walk around the perimeter at her asst. living residence – this week there are the peonies, a wonderful red rose bush, and the mock orange shrubs just started… here the lupines are gorgeous (though I don’t know if there’s that much smell), there are lots of iris, and the viburnum has bloomed. Ooh, I just looked, and there’s one orange poppy!

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  31. I have quite a it of stuff that’s blooming, but nothing really fragrant since the lilacs faded. The weigelia is blooming, and the ninebark. Lots of cranesbill, anemone, buttercups, irises, daisies, phlox, spiderwort, wild geranium. One peony blossom, the rest are still buds. Chives, but in their case it’s really the foliage that has the scent, not the flower.

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  32. This spring, for the first time in at least a decade, I decided that I would master my 2/3 acre with gusto. I’m so relieved to discover that I do, in fact, still have the stamina to do such intense, back-breaking work.

    At this point, the property almost looks like a botanical garden. I’ve fallen in love with mowing, edging, watering and can hardly wait for the grass and even weeds to grow so that I have something to do outside.

    Just as de cluttering and redecorating inside, this challenge outside has now been met. I guess I do have it in me after all:)

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  33. On Monday I woke up in the morning with hay fever symptoms. It surprised me because I’ve never had a problem with allergies in my life. I’m not sure what brought it on, but I’m told the most common allergy trigger is tree pollen. Since the symptoms started after I slept in a second-story bedroom with the windows open and a fan on, that seems like a likely culprit. Wish I knew which tree to blame.

    I’m better today.

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  34. this new house is a fragrent phenominon. i had no idea,
    magnolia trees out back, lilac bushes on two side, honeysuckle is another amazing nosecandy wafting in. it is perfume land all around, i dont like perfume but love the flowers. my hot tub is in the airstream of the aroma flowage and it is heaven.
    whats in the new yard bir? next week there is the same weather as last week here. no its the other way around isnt it?

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  36. Couple of things:
    This Sunday we’re having a final Open House Pot Luck here in the back yard, between noon and 5:00. Any and all Baboons are invited – wish you were all within driving distance.

    There will be party favors, from among these items:

    – 3 boxes of Amrstrong 12x 12 self-adhesive floor tiles? 30 tiles to a box(can email you with photo)
    – Excalibur food dehydrator 19″x16″x13″
    – Super Striper – road or field stripe painter – (this must have been a gag gift at some point)
    – steel drum
    – Choroi pentatonic recorder (the musical instrument) – nice wood but I can’t identify which
    – 6-bottle wine holder (scroll-like metal w/ pewter finish)

    If you’d like one of these gems and can’t get here Sunday, email me at:
    mmbbhassing@usfamily.net
    Also email me if you need directions.

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    1. Assuming this is a Robbinsdale open house? If we’re not willing to take anything with us, are we still welcome???

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    3. Sorry, Bir, but I can’t make it. I’m interested in the recorder if no one else claims it. If it’s available, and if Linda attends your gathering, perhaps you could give it to her to bring back to the West Side?

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  37. Morning all! I have my mapblast directions to Owatonna for this afternoon. I believe that only BiR needs a copy of Chris’ book?

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    1. what time are you going. i can caravan with you if youd like but i need to leave to be back so separate cars is a good idea i think

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      1. OK… I’m leaving cities about 2:15 – to give me time in case I managed to get lost (yes, I know it’s straight down 35W but you can never underestimate my ability to get turned around). See you there!

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      1. Thanks for posting that link, Linda. I see from the picture that I have something in common with Chris – we’re both lefties.

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