What a wonderful afternoon we had. There were so many people that came to celebrate Mom's life with us. Carrie, Becky, Judy and Sherrise from my work came, Shelley and Dorina from Betty's work came, Jeff - Andy's Boss, and some of the neighbors from the building were all there. We have enough food to feed an army! Everyone was so thoughtful and supportive, and even though there wasn't a lot of room to mingle, everyone managed to meet everyone else.
Cousin Wayne was having fun keeping everyone's name straight, the kids were running around eating, and it was exactly what Mom would have wanted. We created a memorial card on the computer like the ones they have at the funeral homes, and had a book we asked everyone to sign with memories of Mom.
Oh and the food ? It was enough for a least a couple of days after ... and it was nice to not worry about what to eat. In a few days we'll start going through closets and such to start clearing things out, and I forsee a few trips to Goodwill. Books and clothes and knicknacks and such.
We're finalizing plans for the niche we're going to put Mom's urn into, and what else we're going to put in there with it, Anthony's going to put in one of his hot wheels, cause Mom always played cars with him. He misses her alot. Just after everyone left for home, we took him over to the Cross Cancer Institute here in the city and he donated all of the money in his piggybank in memory of Mom. It was roughly $60, and it was all his own idea. I am so proud of him !
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Goodbye Mom ....
The End has finally come. Thursday March 23 at 11:00 am, Mom passed away. The day before, we thought that the end was near. We went across the street to St. Andrews and Father Vic came over to give her Last Rites. He didn't even hesitate. My brother in law Mark went over and explained that she had been raised Catholic, and baptized as such, but hadn't been practising for most of her adult life. Father
Vic replied "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic" and went to grab his coat and came right over.
He came into her room, and her breathing was so bad at that point, she looked pretty comforted to see him there though. He administered the rite, and everyone joined in the prayer. It was roughly 25 minutes, and he told all of us we had done everything right for her so far. A few people were surprised to know that we were doing this all for her at home, and that was what Mom wanted. To die at home, in peace, surrounded by her family. With dignity. And that's exactly how she went.
Mom's aide worker Tamara was a godsend. She came everyday after dropping her sons off at day-care, and she took the bus across the city to come to us. She usually arrived around 9am, and stayed until 4 when everyone was getting off work. She would do everything for Mom, and often just sat holding her hand, and singing to her softly to keep her company. After Mom passed, I gave her a hug and she said that her prayer everyday when she woke up was that she would be a blessing to someone that day, She was definitely that and more to all of us.
We all went in to say our goodbyes after Mom was gone, and before the Funeral Home came to take away the body. Even Anthony went in to see her before she was gone. I called everyone to let them know she was gone, and so help me those were the toughest phone calls I have ever made in my life. You never think that you'll know what to say, but you always manage to find the right words somehow.
Everyone at work has been so good to me. Text messages to my phone asking if we need anything, and asking when the service was going to be. We're going to have it at home, and we were able to design and print the Memorial Cards ourselves. The cats keep sniffing around the flowers, and we have to put them in the other room so they don't have a nibble in the middle of the night. We went through our photo albums, and picked out all the best (and candid) photos of Mom we could find, and mounted them all on Poster boards so everyone can share in her life with us.
Uncle Gerry got into town today, with his son in law Wayne, and we've been remembering and looking at pictures. We went for dinner (because no one has felt like cooking anything all week !), and no we didn't have sandwiches ! I'll fill you in on the sandwich joke later ... !
More to come ....
Vic replied "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic" and went to grab his coat and came right over.
He came into her room, and her breathing was so bad at that point, she looked pretty comforted to see him there though. He administered the rite, and everyone joined in the prayer. It was roughly 25 minutes, and he told all of us we had done everything right for her so far. A few people were surprised to know that we were doing this all for her at home, and that was what Mom wanted. To die at home, in peace, surrounded by her family. With dignity. And that's exactly how she went.
Mom's aide worker Tamara was a godsend. She came everyday after dropping her sons off at day-care, and she took the bus across the city to come to us. She usually arrived around 9am, and stayed until 4 when everyone was getting off work. She would do everything for Mom, and often just sat holding her hand, and singing to her softly to keep her company. After Mom passed, I gave her a hug and she said that her prayer everyday when she woke up was that she would be a blessing to someone that day, She was definitely that and more to all of us.
We all went in to say our goodbyes after Mom was gone, and before the Funeral Home came to take away the body. Even Anthony went in to see her before she was gone. I called everyone to let them know she was gone, and so help me those were the toughest phone calls I have ever made in my life. You never think that you'll know what to say, but you always manage to find the right words somehow.
Everyone at work has been so good to me. Text messages to my phone asking if we need anything, and asking when the service was going to be. We're going to have it at home, and we were able to design and print the Memorial Cards ourselves. The cats keep sniffing around the flowers, and we have to put them in the other room so they don't have a nibble in the middle of the night. We went through our photo albums, and picked out all the best (and candid) photos of Mom we could find, and mounted them all on Poster boards so everyone can share in her life with us.
Uncle Gerry got into town today, with his son in law Wayne, and we've been remembering and looking at pictures. We went for dinner (because no one has felt like cooking anything all week !), and no we didn't have sandwiches ! I'll fill you in on the sandwich joke later ... !
More to come ....
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