Thanks, Sara, Nancy, Chuck and Linda.
Life goes on for Mom's children, and part of what we emailed about today had to do with some property my mom owned in Texas (handed down from my Granddaddy through my father). The county real estate tax assessor just sent my sister a huge questionnaire asking us to justify the agricultural assessment on this land, which resulted in lower taxes for Mom for many years.
Fortunately, since the land went into our names earlier this month, my brother has gotten involved in dealing with our second cousin (who recently inherited the adjoining land when our aunt died), and with the county, and is trying to locate (or at least find out the name of) the rancher whose cattle are grazing on that land. Apparently there's no written lease; it may have been a handshake deal a generation ago, and our cousin says the rent for cattle grazing is past due. My brother did see the cows last June. This whole situation would have been too much for me to cope with; I'm busy trying to get ready to see my mom's income tax man in Colorado. So at last I can say, YAY, I'm getting some help from my brother.
So anyway, we shared a few memories today, but there were also some cow jokes, because the forms are demanding to be filled out even if it is a one-year anniversary which ought to be a time for reflection. We want to get rid of that land and the cow complications, and then maybe we can have more time to relax and just think about the good times we had with Mom, our dear mother, rather than about these current problems. I guess that mundane stuff happens any time someone has to deal with a relative's passing.
