Eternal rest grant unto her
May perpetual light shine upon her
May she rest in peace
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I am sorry.
Many thanks to all of you for the virtual communal hug. For the time being we’re going through the experience of discovering all the little ways this will change our lives. We’ll miss her playing her electronic organ (she could really fill the house with “Rock of Ages”!) and the quilting she used to show off, her mandatory trips to a local Mexican food restaurant. I was supposed to build her a garden glider this spring so she could sit in her English garden and listen to books on tape – honestly, it was going to be a bit of a hassle, getting the thing built before Easter, but I almost wish I could have that hassle back. Of course, the oxygen machine is already gone, and the walker won’t be far behind (Pop hated those things.) The cookie jar won’t be filled as faithfully, the chocolate mints will run out and not be replenished. Silly things, really, but that’s what I see now.
One other thing, then I’ll not belabor this any more:
My father has worked for about six years trying to market a novel that he spent the previous ten years writing. Mom was his biggest cheerleader – when the rest of us quit believing that it would ever actually happen, Mom kept the faith. She even chastized us for “not believing.”
Well, sure enough, about two weeks ago his agent finally found a publisher who wanted to look at the manuscript. Between trips to Fort Collins, he managed (without telling anyone else) to get the thing printed out, packaged and sent off. He pretty much forgot about it in the excitement of getting Mom transferred from Fort Collins back home and into a nursing home for recovery.
Thursday night, after Pop got home from visiting Mom in the nursing home, he got a call from the agent – the publisher wants to publish the book for next Christmas season. I am impressed, to say the least – he’s overcome incredible obstacles to get this thing published! He was going to tell Mom the good news after she recovered from dialysis on Friday. He never had the chance. He believes she knows anyway, and I’m good with that.
Thanks, you guys. Onward and upward from here.