Losing our mom is tough – especially when they have been as giving and sacrificial as my mom. There was nobody who didn’t like Mom. I don’t think it was possible.
Following my Dad’s passing 12 years ago, Mom moved from Houston to Colorado Springs so that she would be near us. How very fortunate we were. It was just 15 months ago that we discovered in an unexpected ER visit that Mom had stage 4 cancer. Of course there were all of the various appointments with doctors, radiologists, oncologists, and ultimately hospice caregivers. It was an exhausting journey but a path that I was privileged to walk with her – and one that I would not have traded.
During her last couple of months, Mom was bed bound. The last couple of weeks, she hardly ate and had little energy for communication. The last couple of days, she longed to shed her dilapidated body and be with Lord, where she would run and laugh again.
During this summer I would: rearrange work schedules to be with Mom; cancel vacations to tend to her needs; spend the majority of nights and days just being there with her; being there to read to her, to watch MASH reruns she had seen a hundred times (she thought it was the best TV show ever made); and fix her meals, help her drink coffee through a straw, and clean up after her.
And yet, in all that I did over the months – it didn’t begin to compare with how she took care of me as a baby and as a young child for years. She, no doubt, lived exhausted when we were kids. And she did it all without complaining and without regrets. Now, for a mere few months, it was my turn. It was an honor and a privilege, as our roles had reversed, to hold her hand, kiss her forehead, and tell her that I loved her in those final hours.
There are no profound tips today. I just wanted to talk about my Mom and if yours is still around, encourage you to tell her that you love her today. Thanks for indulging me.