I received the call yesterday and my Auntie Rosie has gone to God. She was in terrible pain after breaking her arm. They couldn’t do surgery because of her mental status and every time you touched her…well, you get the drift. She was under palliative care the last eight days so she slipped away in her sleep. A peaceful transition is the best one could ever ask for.
Today is the “angelversary” of my mom’s passing. The last time I went to see my aunt, I stopped in my tracks as I walked in the door. She was the spitting image of my mom and it was startling. When Mom died on this day in 2004, I called my Auntie Rosie in Las Vegas. We tried to get her a flight through Colorado so we could be on the same plane from there on, but the best we could do at such short notice was to meet in Charlotte and travel the rest of the way together.
When we arrived in Charleston, WV we rented a car and headed to the farm. There was only one place to sleep and that was in a full size bed in the “girls’ room”. We lay there most of the night listening to the Asian Ladybeetles tip-tapping on the ceiling. We were afraid to go to sleep for fear our mouths would gape open and we’d turn into bug catchers! We stayed in town at Mom’s house after that.
When I was growing up, I never thought much about becoming the matriarch of the family. That was for the “elders”. And now…WE are the elders! I always knew I’d get older, but I just didn’t realize it would be so darned fast! I saw a quote by David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. “Don’t waste the time. Time is the final currency, man. Not money, not power…it’s time.” I’m determined I’m not going to waste a bit of what I have left. I won’t be laying on my death bed wishing I’d watched more TV.
A had a productive day in my studio yesterday. I got a lot of things done. I did some housekeeping, fixed our supper, connected with family, did some laundry. The laundry is downstairs near my studio so I can throw a few loads in while I’m working. I brought the small electric space heater in from the camper. I placed it under the desk and I stayed much warmer than I did with the gas stove on. And, I didn’t feel sick by the end of the day. I’ll call that a win.
We don’t have anything scheduled this week till Friday, so I expect to make a lot of progress on “The Project!”
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“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG