Days have followed days during the pandemic but during the holidays we at least never signed into work. Instead we cleared some space in our cluttered home. Space that we soon will fill with memories salvaged from my mother’s house. In less than one month the house where I spent my childhood will have new owners, and other children will call it their home. In less than a month I will be sixty years old.
Like the mirrors of the lake, ends are like beginnings.
on New Year’s day —
even the wilted reeds
seems vibrant
Today we open the bar again at dVerse with a haibun Monday hosted by Lilian. The theme today is New Year, and with New Years day also being a kigo I thought about some transitions that I’m going through right now.
January 4, 2021
Björn Rudbergs writings 
A very solemn piece with reflection and indeed a new beginning for you and others. Extremely well-written!
Some big changes in your life, but you approach them with a spirit of quiet reflection and the search for gratitude amidst the chaos.
Losing a parent is so very hard….and then sifting through all their belongings as one readies the house for sale. Oh yes….transitions can be emotional. Sixty sounds very young to me!!! 🙂
LOVE the haiku!
Bjorn- Sending you lots of positive vibes during this emotional time.
The solemnity of your haibun is reflected in the photograph, Björn, and you’ve conveyed your feelings so honestly and clearly, I can feel them. In some ways I’m relieved I didn’t have to clear my mother’s home,she had already left it behind years before she passed away. On the other hand, I would have liked to have had the experience of touching her belongings and reliving some good memories, rather than the last one I have of her. The anniversary of her death is on Saturday.
Obviously a somber time of reflection for you, Bjorn. May your 2021 bring peace and clarity!
Our endings leave space for new beginnings. How would we manage if they didn’t? Beautiful haiku, Bjorn.
I really like your haiku. I can understand a bit of what you’re going through. My mom moved several times, so we didn’t have a family home to clear out, but moving her to the assisted living and then clearing out her storage where all her stuff went. . .our enclosed front porch is still full of her paintings.
My mother passed at 39, so it was my mother-in-law ,who passed at 90. My wife and her sister took a year clearing out and selling her home. Your haibun is fresh and strong and like 2021, it is promising and unwavering. May this year be finally golden.
Change is vibrating, even in the stillness of the air over the quiet pond. Like always, one day at a time. Thoughts are with you.
Even the trying times have their upside, Bjorn. I know it doesn’t always seem so, but…
Wonderful Haibun, beautiful photo brings home the haiku. Awesome.
You show us how it’s done, Bjorn. Just beautifully reflective, and wise.
Lovely.
The cycle of life, as they say.
I found this very moving, Björn.
-David
I like the hidden depth of your prose, giving the facts but eluding to the emotions. I hope your mother’s keepsakes bring you peace and comfort, Bjorn. 60 is a couple months away for me as well. Time slips so quickly. I am so curious about the building in your photo.
So love that last line of your haibun. It is hard to let go of a childhood home.
That is a very big letting go, Bjorn……in a lifetime of so many letting go’s. Lovely to read you in 2021. Lovely it is no longer 2020. We live in hope for the days ahead. Stay safe.
Like the mirrors of the lake, ends are like beginnings.
Sometimes what is considered a beginning or ending changes as life goes on. Letting go is never easy. I really liked the way you ended this.
Your words are just as full of reflection as the lake, and even in sorrow there is beauty in remembering. Touching piece!
I like the rather stately, reflective pace of this. You say a lot in a few words, and give us some lovely wintry reeds in the haiku.
Endings are indeed beginnings, a perfect haibun to begin the New Year. Cheers.
Your words perfectly suit your lovely haibun. Happy new year.
Your story is very touching and full of love and nostalgia! It is very hard to come to the end of something so treasured. Every ending, as you say, is a new beginning.