My 98-year old mother died yesterday, and the past week was pretty intense. FWIW, it was not a totally sad event. She had lived a long and happy life, was ready to die, and died without pain surrounded by her family. She had lived independently until one week ago, and her greatest nightmare was the thought of being confined to a nursing facility. If she had lived another day or so, her nightmare would have probably come true.
One funny and rather amazing story before I go. My mother was very smart, had a fantastic memory, had an incredibly large vocabulary, and was a ruthless merciless ultra-competitive Scrabble player. She could beat almost anyone, even people half her age. She knew words that most people have never heard of. A few hours before she died, while experiencing some serious discomfort and distress as her body shut down, she suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed to everyone in the room, "I just realized that the word "funeral" has "fun" in it!" When I give her eulogy later this week, it will not be at her funeral. It will be at her "fun-eral."
One funny and rather amazing story before I go. My mother was very smart, had a fantastic memory, had an incredibly large vocabulary, and was a ruthless merciless ultra-competitive Scrabble player. She could beat almost anyone, even people half her age. She knew words that most people have never heard of. A few hours before she died, while experiencing some serious discomfort and distress as her body shut down, she suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed to everyone in the room, "I just realized that the word "funeral" has "fun" in it!" When I give her eulogy later this week, it will not be at her funeral. It will be at her "fun-eral."
