The End: A Meditation on Dates, Death Certificates, and the Visceral Events We Call Leaving

On April 15, 2026 — today— I received a message from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office: “You are hereby notified that pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 180 section 11A(c), the above-named charitable corporation is dissolved as of April 15, 2026.” That above-named charitable corporation was the Full Frame Initiative.

It’s both true and wrong that the Full Frame Initiative ended today. Just like it’s both true and wrong that my mother’s death can be understood by the date on her death certificate.
So much of the weight of endings is held in the leavings that surround them. In this piece, I explore why these two events — so different from each other — rhyme, and what they tell us about leaving and ending.