In January of 2026, it had been a year since Linda had surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. She had done a lot of physical rehabilitation and was recovering nicely.
Darel, on the other hand, had noticed a downturn in health and was having balance problems. Physical therapy failed to make a noticeable improvement. During a beautiful afternoon walking with Janet and Allen through a Loveland sculpture garden, Darel was having a lot of trouble keeping up. We quickly decided that it made more sense to spend the rest of the afternoon at a local brewery.
Each month, several former math teachers and professors meet for lunch . In February, several cancellations gave us an excuse to make a quick trip to Las Cruces rather than attend the math seminar. We shared a take-out dinner with Carol and friends. Carol was able to feed herself and contribute to the conversation. The next day, Carol had a turn for the worse and never recovered. She died later that month. We were fortunate to have one last chance to say goodbye.
Linda and Darel were scheduled to take a river cruise along the Danube in April. We thought about cancelling the trip, but finally decided to give it a go. We landed in Budapest on the day of the national elections that saw Viktor Orban being defeated by