Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Bleak and Joyful

It was a true celebration of Mom.

As the family gathered for the weekend, we were concerned that we would be too loud for Mom. Turned out, she liked the noise. It was her family enjoying being together and that made her happy.
As a matter of fact, she wanted more of the party in her room. We obliged.

People trickled in all day on Friday and each had their time with Mom. On Friday she could still converse, if slowly.

On Saturday, Mary and I got Mom to tell us stories. I will type them later. It was her last sustained vocal conversation. I say vocal because she can have a whole conversation with her eyes.

Saturday evening the whole family gathered at the apartment to toast Mom. We passed the champagne and Dave gave a toast. Mom took a sip of champagne.

Funerals can be joyous because everyone comes to a funeral and you see loved ones you haven't seen in ages. The reason for the funeral is always there with you, surrounding the gathering. The future without the deceased is final and bleak.

So in true Polly fashion, we planned ahead and had a funeral-ish gathering before her death. Best of both worlds. Always thinking ahead. It seemed much more important to have a gathering to say goodbye than a gathering after the fact.

Stressed? Yes. Complicated? Yes. Exhausted? Yes. Wonderfully at peace? Absolutely.

So thank you all for coming so far. And for those who were only with us in spirit, we love you.

No comments:

Post a Comment