Reunited in Heaven

Yesterday, March 26th, 2010 my sweet momma made the transition from life into death into eternal life! The transition was peaceful and her loved ones surrounded her. It was an amazing experience.

I am doing better than I expected. Many prayers are being lifted up on our families behalf and I feel 'lifted'.

The days before Mom passed were not easy. Her communication went from barely speaking, to nods and groans. The last two days we were in amazement as she communicated her love with tears as we spoke or sang to her. The last 36 hours, she experienced some stress in respiration which was so painful to witness. It was lessened with Morphine. We just prayed and prayed that the Lord would take her home. But God's timing is always perfect even if we can't see the reasoning on this side of the vail.

I called Hospice at around 6 a.m. The nurse showed up at our door close to 7:00 a.m. She walked in and immediately gave her a higher dose of Morphine and silently mouthed the words...'she will go in less than an hour'. What? I was in utter disbelief...I quickly called my brother to come. The Morphine worked wonders. Mom was almost situated in an upright position and seemed more at ease and her color was returning a bit. Soon, Jim and Marsha, Michael, Sylvia and I were surrounding her bed. Jim quoted scripture and we whispered our love to her. Within 45 minutes, We all watched her 'go'. It wasn't traumatic, or stressed, just peaceful. The tears flowed and how thankful we were that her suffering had ended and we KNEW without a shadow of doubt that she was present with the Lord.

Phone calls were made, more hugs, more calls, more hugs and everyone left except for sweet Sylvia my dear dear sister. Sylvia stayed all day and I will never trade that time or forget the memory. We each visited mom's room from time to time until almost 3 hours later her empty body was wrapped in the baby quilt she slept on and taken away.

We opened all the windows and the breeze swept through the entire house taking the sadness with it. Sylvia and I were both amazed at our ability to share laughter and go about our day with a sense of JOY. For me, it was so evident that the Lord's timing was so perfect. We were all together and it was so peaceful and Mom was free. Our faith is so strong that we know that Mom is truly where she longed to be and there was pure Joy for her.

Sylvia left after we cleaned out Mom's clothes out of the drawers and closet. Mom loved her clothes and each little article brought a smile. She was one snappy dresser. We enjoyed finding a random piece of jewelry pinned in odd places on her blouse or sweater. As mom's dementia progressed, she would wear several pieces of jewelry at once along with a ton of makeup. Sometimes with several layers of clothing. If we picked out an actual outfit, she would go along with you and put it on, but before long, she had changed into her own style.
I will cherish those times.

In the evening Michael and I joined our son for dinner. The diner was a busy place and no one around us knew what we had experienced that day. Life goes on. As Michael and I drove in the car much of our conversation was just one word "Wow". That one word seemed to encapsulate so much meaning for the both of us.

We came home to our house and it was just the two of us. For 9 months it's been 3 or more!I slept better than I have for a very long time. Life will go on and we are better people because we had the opportunity to watch someone live their life well. Mom was a Godly woman. Even at her most highly dementia stages she loved her praise songs and hymns. I still have visions of her lifting her hands in praise on her hospital bed. Tears flowing from her eyes. Oh how she loved Jesus her Savior. She was confounded by his love for her that He would die in her place on the cross to save her from her sin. Now she has seen Him face to face beholding his light, hearing him say "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Welcome home, Leny"

Mom's dear friend Tina said it best: "She was the most perfect person she had ever known". I agree. I'm inspired to be more, love more, serve more. Thank you Mom for being such an awesome example to me and all who had the privilege to know you and love you. The impact of your life will live on and on. Hugs and Kisses.