When I saw her body laying on the kitchen floor, I was overcome with sorrow. All the life had gone out of her. It slipped away in the dark morning of Christmas Eve. I know she raged against it. After all, she had fought for years to stay with us. Through endless...
The following obituary for my mother appeared in the Sunday Oklahoman, January 28, 2018. He will gather, He will gather The gems for His kingdom, All the pure ones, all the bright ones, His loved and His own. Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning,...
My mother had her first heart attack the year I turned 21. It was the late 1980s, and the country was in a recession. Junk bonds had collapsed and stocks had crashed. Both my parents were unemployed, and for months neither one of them could find work. Sadly, my mom...
Will you laugh just like your mother Will you sigh like your old man Will some things skip a generation Like I've heard they often can Are you a poet or a dancer A devil or a clown Or a strange new combination of The things we've handed down -- Marc Cohn, 1993 It has...
Going through my mother's cedar chest, we found our old Girl Scout and Boy Scout uniforms. My mother loved being a Girl Scout leader, and of course, she was awesome! Here's my brother's San Gabriel Valley Boys Scouts of America cub scout shirt. This was back when we...
In the morning, when I awake, I hear my mother tell me to start my day with prayer. She is here guiding me, seeing me for the first time in true color and light. The reality of my days. All that she missed in the time we spent apart while I worked and plugged along in...
Here is an excerpt from the eulogy I wrote for my mother. Mom died in a place she loved doing what she loved -- keeping busy and anticipating celebration of our Lord's birth. She joined Him on His birthday, and will remain with him throughout eternity. Often...
Dear Mom, There were so many things I wanted to tell you while you were still here with me. I know you see it all now, everything I've been holding inside and going through for so long. I know you're helping me from the other side. Thank you. I know you're proud of...
It hurt badly to go through my mom's things. It took my siblings and I a few hours just to go through her vintage brooches. She loved pretty pins, and we bought her many over the years. The ones we loved best were the ones we recalled her wearing during our...
Bridgy hasn't left my side since my mother died. Her grief comes in gentle waves and salty tears. Dark, tangled strands of hair stick to her wet, pale cheeks as I cradle her in my arms by the Christmas tree. "Did she know I loved her," she asks. "I didn't tell anyone...
My mother has died. It was in the late night hours of December 23 or in the early morning hours of December 24. The time of death has not yet been determined, although I'm sure it was the twenty-third because her bed was made and she wasn't wearing her nightgown. It...
I was born in Los Angeles County General Hospital on September 30, 1967. The following day, my mother turned 33. Growing up, I loved to watch soap operas with my mom, especially General Hospital, because the opening scene featured the famous hospital. An ambulance...