Bud
It is what it is.
My 92 year old mother died yesterday. She was experiencing pain in her stomach, the EMT's came, took her to the ER where her pressure was low and pulse irregular, they gave her medication to ease the pain as her heart just gave out. We got there just before she died.
Last week she visited us for a few days and our son and family came for supper. We had a fun evening. A week ago today I took her to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis to visit my dad's grave.
She said she wanted to go to a funeral home and "look at their work" because she didn't like to see people with a lot of makeup on in the casket. I said "You want me to go to the door of a funeral home and ask if we can see any dead people?" She said "Yes". I offered to drive her there and she could look alone as I wasn't asking or going.
Mom and I could talk about this stuff and laugh at the same time. Her granddaughter got a red light ticket that shows she and and mom laughing about something and my niece didn't stop (Distracted driving for sure!)
Wednesday I went over for the weekly visit. Dr appt (shot in the eye), shopping, lunch. Had a nice day. Talked to her twice on the phone Thursday.
Mom had macular degeneration, high blood pressure, 5 stents, diabetes and was hard of hearing. She lived independently in a retirement complex. Her mind was sharp and I never worried that someone was going to cheat her out of her money.As a child of the Depression, she worried about having enough money for the rest of her life. I told her I was going to look down into the casket and say "I told you so." as she had sufficient resources to live for decades. We both laughed. We shared a similar sense of humor. When I left to go home that day our last words to each other were "I love you."
She often said she feared going blind the most and didn't want to live in long term care.
She wondered, as many her age do, why she was still here. She told me she lived a good life, had no regrets and was ready to go at any time. Neither she nor I nor anyone else expected it to be yesterday.
What a blessing for her and us that her death was short and painless.
I'm sad that's she is gone. I'm happy how it happened.
And a short m/c related story. I went to Nova Scotia last year on the bike. Was gone 24 days and mom didn't like me being away so long. When I told her I was going back again this year she wasn't happy. My sister tells me that mom thought I was going back because I liked it so much that I wanted to move there. She could never understand that it was just fun to ride.
Is there someone you love that you haven't told recently? Do it today.
Last week she visited us for a few days and our son and family came for supper. We had a fun evening. A week ago today I took her to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis to visit my dad's grave.
She said she wanted to go to a funeral home and "look at their work" because she didn't like to see people with a lot of makeup on in the casket. I said "You want me to go to the door of a funeral home and ask if we can see any dead people?" She said "Yes". I offered to drive her there and she could look alone as I wasn't asking or going.
Mom and I could talk about this stuff and laugh at the same time. Her granddaughter got a red light ticket that shows she and and mom laughing about something and my niece didn't stop (Distracted driving for sure!)
Wednesday I went over for the weekly visit. Dr appt (shot in the eye), shopping, lunch. Had a nice day. Talked to her twice on the phone Thursday.
Mom had macular degeneration, high blood pressure, 5 stents, diabetes and was hard of hearing. She lived independently in a retirement complex. Her mind was sharp and I never worried that someone was going to cheat her out of her money.As a child of the Depression, she worried about having enough money for the rest of her life. I told her I was going to look down into the casket and say "I told you so." as she had sufficient resources to live for decades. We both laughed. We shared a similar sense of humor. When I left to go home that day our last words to each other were "I love you."
She often said she feared going blind the most and didn't want to live in long term care.
She wondered, as many her age do, why she was still here. She told me she lived a good life, had no regrets and was ready to go at any time. Neither she nor I nor anyone else expected it to be yesterday.
What a blessing for her and us that her death was short and painless.
I'm sad that's she is gone. I'm happy how it happened.
And a short m/c related story. I went to Nova Scotia last year on the bike. Was gone 24 days and mom didn't like me being away so long. When I told her I was going back again this year she wasn't happy. My sister tells me that mom thought I was going back because I liked it so much that I wanted to move there. She could never understand that it was just fun to ride.
Is there someone you love that you haven't told recently? Do it today.