I have a dear friend who just lost his mother recently. He and his wife were able to get there before she passed away but they weren’t really able to talk to her and have her respond back. As I spoke to my friend, she mentioned how hard this was on her husband. As soon as she said that, my mind raced back 11 years ago and I saw myself and my brothers sitting by my Mom’s hospital bed…trying to figure out how to say good bye to her. How do you live with out a Mom or a Dad? It is much harder than it looks. I searched my heart for the right things to say, I didn’t want her to go but could hardly stand to watch her suffer much longer either.
In our case, Mom didn’t die in that hospital room 11 years ago, she actually got better, graduated from Hospice ( which is almost unheard of ) and went home. Yet it was only a few weeks before she turned again for the worse, by Thanksgiving time she had slipped into a Coma and the first week of December (with me at her side once again), I watched her take her last breath. It was still one of the hardest things I have ever done. I knew she was done with life and all the trials and experiences that she had gone through but still…who was going to be the Grandma to my kids? Who was going to help me when I was stuck in life? Yes, it was a bit overwhelming and sad. I have mentioned this before but… I was most upset that everyone in the world just kept going on with life. I had just lost my Mother, it was the beginning of the Christmas season and everyone was happy and busy around me. It seemed like no one really cared that I just lost my Mother. I know that wasn’t really true, but it seems when life gives you really big things to handle, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, cancer, severe illnesses that your whole world stops and that is all you can think about… and yet everyone else’s life is still going on! I know the whole world isn’t going to stop, but for some reason you sorta want it to…just for a sign of respect for my Mom or whatever the situation is. Yes, life is hard. I pray that my friend’s heart will be ok and that he and his family will be able to have some peace soon.
Saying good bye has always been a hard thing for me, even when it is just my kids or nieces and nephews leaving after a visit… or a dear friend moving. I always cry my heart out. So saying Good Bye to a Mother or anyone at the brink of death is… a really hard thing on your heart.
Tonight, think about your friends and loved ones who might be going through some really hard times, and remember to say a prayer for them. Because prayers really do make a difference, I know that from personal experience!
Good night dear friends! Thanks for always being there for me and my family.
“To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.” ~Thomas Campbell,
