Mom

(transferred from my last blog and deserved to come over, this was done on February 27, 2005, the one about my Dad was in 2006)

In the end her breathing was labored, gurgling, tense with the death rattle that was an indication that she was ready to make her departure. I suppose in my mind I was thinking she would go with a serene look on her face, an angelic glow would surround her lovely face, and perhaps organ music would play in the background. Unfortunately the concept in my head was a far off dream or a pretty scene in a film I once saw because the actuality of the situation was not at all appealing. To answer the long standing question, "What happens when we die?", you don't want to know.

So then my mind drifted back to the days before my mother was sick, and even when I lived over a thousand miles away I could just pick up the phone and tell her about whatever situation I was facing and she would give me an answer. You see, the thing about my mother was, she always considered my dilemma thoroughly and she gave me the right answer. How can one person always be right? When she didn't know, she said she didn't know, which was correct. If it was a matter of right or wrong, she knew what was right.

When there was an opening to interject her own personal bias into her answer, she never took that opportunity. In short, my mother was truly wise. Her lovely blue eyes saw through people who weren't who they said they were, but she didn't embarrass them by exposing their idiocy. When it was right to roll up her sleeves and pitch in to help a person in need she did so without hesitation and she knew when to step back and give a person space.When my mother heard someone was going to have a baby she would ask if they knew the sex and that same day her hands would begin working on a baby blanket. Pink. Blue. Lavender. White with a light green edging. She could watch television or listen to music and yarn would flow through her fingers to be formed into a blanket that would swaddle a newborn, provide warmth and protection from the elements. It's amazing what a person can do with a piece of string. I still have mine.

My mother married, gave birth to seven children, divorced, earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Akron when she was over forty years old, raised her children with a firm hand and warm heart, played piano for her church, donated her body to science, and could count her regrets on one hand. Everyone should be so lucky.Elizabeth Ann Heeman09/13/1936 to 02/25/2005