Time to go Home

Time to go Home

“Hey, Gram! It’s time to go home.”

Helen looked, Tim was at the door, his parents sent him to let her know they’d all be leaving soon. She was sitting in the front room, looking out the window. She used to live in this house, it was home to her then.

She and Ted had bought it just after they got married. They’d lived here over fifty years, brought up their children, had their careers, welcomed their grandchildren. Their oldest, Alice, bought the house after Ted passed away, and it was too much for Helen to handle alone. Helen moved in with her youngest, Danny, and his family.

They always came here for all the holidays. Alice gathered all the relatives, uncles, aunts and cousins, everyone who wanted to come. She loved having family around. It was quieter at Danny and Angela’s house. They loved Alice’s gatherings, but were happy to go home to their own quiet house. Helen too. She used to love the noise, the company, but back then she shared it with Ted. It was different after Ted passed away. She often wondered how just removing one person from a life full of people could leave that life so seemingly empty. She loved her family, but she was tired.

She looked at the picture of Ted that she always kept with her. She joked with the relatives saying she, “brought Ted along.” Suddenly she felt very sleepy, deciding to shut her eyes, just for a minute, knowing they would come back for her when they were really ready to go.

As she closed her eyes she thought about what Tim had said. ‘It’s time to go home.’ Wouldn’t that be nice, she thought as she looked down at Ted’s picture, and closed her eyes one last time.