NOT QUITE DONE YET:I change as a result ofmanaging Emily’...

NOT QUITE DONE YET:

I change as a result ofmanaging Emily’s estate. For one thing, I pay closer attention to what I keepin the drawer of my bedside table. I call my mother and tell her that if shehas anything in her house she doesn’t want me to see, to get rid of it now.Lasting impressions are made in what you leave behind. I do not want anyonelifting up a corner of the carpet of my life and finding all the dirty bits Inever took the time to resolve. Finish business. Clear the decks. We are all onthe same path. (Atkinson, 2012)

This final chapter tells the reader what the author has learned –not only about the execution of an estate, but about her friends Emily and Rob,and especially about herself. Managing Emily’s estate was a life alteringexperience.