"I was standing at the deli counter of my small hometown's grocery store when my 84-year-old mother told me the news: "Your father and I talked about it, and we really need to be closer to better medical help, so we're moving off the island." I froze mid-order. The sandwich artist waited for me to choose a meat while my entire childhood shifted under my feet."
"Their reasons for moving and selling made sense, but, still, I felt betrayed by this seemingly sudden choice. It's hard for anyone to lose their childhood home, I imagine, but in my case this wasn't just any house - it was the first truly safe place I'd lived after my birth mother couldn't care for me and my siblings. My grandparents adopted us and brought us up here on Whidbey Island, a beautiful seahorse-shaped isle in the Puget sound that's not too far from Seattle,"
An 84-year-old mother announces that she and her husband will move off Whidbey Island to be closer to medical care, surprising and upsetting their adult child. The family home on Whidbey Island served as the first truly safe place after the child's birth mother could not provide care; grandparents adopted and raised the children there. Whidbey Island is described with windswept beaches, mountain views, small-town storefronts, and a close-knit community. The child wanted to leave as a teenager, later moved to New York, and then came to appreciate the island's peacefulness and frequent summertime visits.
Read at Apartment Therapy
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