Family
I sit here hesitating on what to write for this post. Should it be about what’s going on in the store or what’s going on in our lives? They overlap constantly as we share our experiences from the day at dinner or as we overshare with all of you at the front counter.
You know about us raising Serena and Chloe in Seattle. You know that they both have boyfriends (and that I worked with one of the boyfriend’s dad at Burger King in the ‘80s as well as went to Loretto with his mom). You know that Chloe bought a condo and Serena just graduated from CSU Sacramento. You know that we like to dance and that we consider any customer or driver a possible victim to scare. You know when we are sick or having a celebration. You know that we moved back to the area in 2022 to be near my mom and that she fell last August causing us to move her into Eskaton Gold River. And now, you may know that my mom passed away on June 19, 2026 and our family has been going through the stages of grief for the last three weeks.
Mom was 94, told us every day after my dad died in 2020 that she was ready to go (while pointing to the sky). I would joke with her that Daddy was still negotiating her membership into Heaven and that is why she is still alive. She always laughed and said I was a terrible daughter for saying that. It wasn’t until the last couple of months with the weight she lost and the lack of appetite that it was clear she was finally going to get her wish to be with my dad.
The day before she died, she kept waving her hand at me and when it was clear I wasn’t doing what she wanted me to do, she found the energy to emphatically say, “MOVE!” I took a step to my left and she stared at the space I had moved from and smiled. I asked, “Why did you want me to move?” She pointed and said, “Mama.” “Your mama is right there?” as I pointed and waved my hand through the space, and she nodded. This is my favorite moment; one that gives me hope and the belief that we are led to the afterlife by the ones we loved the most in this life. Where was my dad? He was probably making her cocktail and getting ready to enjoy having her near him again.
This Dispatch family we have created is special to us and we are so grateful to everyone who hugged us and gave words of condolence. These moments have filled our hearts and given us another reason that shows this little store in Arden Arcade is exactly what we are supposed to be doing.