62 Haywood Street

The house at 62 Haywood Street is up for sale. This was the home and ours was the relationship that Rahima manifested from halfway across the country.

Not long ago, when Rahima was living in Iowa, she left her unhappy marriage and her tenured faculty position in quest for great love and a place to call home. She took her consulting work on the road and she chose Greenfield, Massachusetts as a place to live. In true Rahima form, she had several reasons for this location: 1) it was in New England, not far from her hometown of Scituate, Massachusetts; 2) it was within reach of the Abode of the Message in New Lebanon, NY, a center for Sufi practice and her spiritual home; and 3) she regarded the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield—the place where we first met—as the "contra dance center of the universe" (see video).

Now the time we shared in this place has come to an end. I am most grateful to the team of friends who helped get the house ready for sale. The realtor walked through yesterday and said the place looks fabulous. Here are links to an online gallery of photos I took yesterday and the real estate listing. Today, I worked with a woman to clear the house of energetic blockages and infuse it with love and light. I had a strong sense of Rahima's presence and approval.

This beautiful house was well-used, every part of it. Now it is time to let it go for someone else to enjoy.

I feel complete with this phase. My grief is not over. For a long time, I expect to feel the sorrow and gratitude that come. However, my active role in caring for Rahima has shifted. I have attended with her through the original cancer diagnosis and treatment, the hip fracture and recovery, the end-stage cancer diagnosis, the health institute and homecoming, her dying process, the home wake and memorial service and finally the sale of the house. I will hold her memory dear and relish the times when her spirit feels especially near, but my work is largely finished. In the summer, Rahima's ashes will be scattered at her "mermaid put-in spot."

Now I will rest and restore with a view toward progressing in my life. What my next step will be after my time at Woolman Hill—where I will find myself at home and with whom—is yet to be seen, but I feel confident and ever so thankful.

~Andy

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What are your memories of 62 Haywood Street?