It’s April 29th in China and the 28th in America, as I write this. I want to acknowledge the passing of my beloved Ellen, who technically died on April 29, 2015, although as those who were with me know, she had all but clinically died days earlier. If she were alive, she would be celebrating her 74th birthday in June.

It’s somewhat unfathomable to me that it’s been four years since her passing. I still think about her often and miss her terribly. In March, ahead of my move to Vietnam, I signed up on Facebook for the first time in my life. I was compelled to do it because I wanted to connect with the various ex-pat groups in Saigon. Not surprisingly, individuals I’ve known, going back fo middle school have “friended” me. As a result, I’ve discovered that people who were my age have died from different, common ailments such as the one that felled Ellen.

It was a sober reminder that I’m now in the age category where increasing mortality is a very real thing. I suppose death and dying are going to play a more prominent role going forward in my life. It’s not good or bad; it just is. For the time being, it still beats the alternative, as they say.

Tomorrow morning I leave China for Vietnam and begin a new chapter in my life.

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