Theodore Chase Rouillard July 5, 1931 - June 13, 2006

Ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me. I just got off the phone to your mom, and...well, your dad passed away last night."

Sharp intake of breath

"I'm so sorry. Your mom really wants you to call her."

"OK - I'll call her later."

Click.

It wasn't a surprise - my dad has been in an assisted living facility for seven years, and was in the hospital for the last week after experiencing "mild congestive heart failure." But it was still a shock initially.

So here I am with my mom in Colorado . We are both doing well and there seems to be a new spaciousness around our relationship. He lives on where he always has, and always will, in our memories.

This weekend I will climb Eagle Rock, a granite monolith overlooking my dad's favorite spot on Earth, and scatter his ashes to the winds. It feels like taking him home.