On the morning of February 13 I called the hospital where my mom was staying. When I asked how my mom was doing the person at the nurses station simply told me, “Didn’t you hear, your mom died at 2:24 in the morning?” What shocking news. My mom was not doing very well, but had plans for when she got out of the hospital. Knowing this fact made it extra hard.
For a couple weeks she had been in the hospital, things were not looking good. Before knowing she would not make it, I had booked a flight to go out to be with her, yet it did not leave for a five days after she had passed away. My sister was already there, she was with mom when she died. She wanted to take care of everything and did not allow me to help. So, not seeing a reason to stay, I drove my mom’s car from San Diego to the Philadelphia area, where I am currently living.
Death is something that will happen to each of use–yet it is so surprising and hard. The first book in the series I am writing, Accident, I have a chapter on death and how to deal with the painful change.
In her life, my mom used her mind well, very sharp she was. This was acquired by reading and being so full of knowledge of so many areas. She often surprised me with her knowledge.
So, my sister cleared out the apartment which she occupied for over 30 years. Her phone was disengaged, a number she had for at least 40 years. So, being nothing there, I deleted my mom’s contact info from my address book. So hard to do, but the memories will always be there, at least until I die.
