when they listen

i'm in my last 48 hrs in this house. I have a storage trailer in my driveway that we've been loading for several days. On Tues., they're coming to pick it up and put most of my worldly possessions in storage for an undetermined stretch. me? i'm moving in with my daughter and her little family. she and her hubs bought dad's house earlier this year after his passing. there is extra room....that's what happens when one builds a home for 4 kids....so I will be moving there for a while. how long hasn't been determined but it will be till after the holidays and the beginning of the new year.
moving is a chore. really. and with part going into storage and part going to my new digs, it's even more dicey. I mean.....how am I supposed to know what i'll need in the next few months? sigh.
but anyway....it's almost done. one must make the best decision one can with the information on hand at the time and move on. if I've told my kids that once, I've said it a hundred times.  never in a million years did I think they were listening, much less that they would repeat it back to me verbatim.  and that's when you know.....they're looking after you. and they were listening. they've opened their homes to me. both of my kids have said I can come stay anytime, for as long as I need. and you know.....i'm pretty sure they meant it.  "here, mama, let me carry that"...."be careful of those steps, mom"..."don't pick that up, mama, you'll bust that rib again"...."I can do that, mom, just leave it there"...."sit down, you need to drink some water and just breathe"....and so it's been.  I even heard "we need to stop for a while. she's had enough. she's done for today".  now I must tell you this....I don't think fragile is a word that's been used to describe me....ever. not physically anyway. tough as a little draft horse, maybe...but fragile? nope. never. that said....my kids are wanting to take care of me, in whatever state i'm in. just like I've always done for them. when they were small I remember telling them more than once that people would come and go in our lives but the one thing that would always be the same, would always be constant, is the three of us. they needed that reassurance from me...that we would always be together and be there for each other. because that's what families do. that's how families are. i think they were listening.  and though my new home isn't ready yet and i'm having to leave this one sooner rather than later, it's ok. I've discovered what the silver lining is.
they were listening. and even with other people in their lives now....it really is still the three of us....plus more.
always and forever is true.