The Long, Long Year

I just realized today, that it has been over a year since we began the process of moving from Minnesota to Texas. We put our home in Minnesota on the market in June, then found our home in Texas the first week in July. Due to the housing market, our home did not sell until the end of November. We moved to Texas and closed on our home the first week of December. (Yes, we were actually homeless for a week.)

So much has happened in that time since we moved. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my mother. She had been going down in health for quite a while, showing signs of Alzheimer's and dementia. But, I got to have her come home with us a lot between December and May. She loved coming to visit and spending time here. I would wait on her and take care of her and it made her feel so special and
loved. Here is a picture we took of her on March 27, 2007. It was her 82nd birthday. She looks really good here, and this is her natural color of hair. (I hope I have her genes.)

Then, in mid April, she began to complain of her stomach hurting and every time she would eat she would feel sick. So, she got to where she would not eat (or could not eat) very much. She began to lose weight. And, she never was very heavy. She just seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally, my brother called me and told me he was going to call an ambulance and take her to the hospital. We both knew she would not go if we just took her. They admitted her and began to do tests. She was admitted to the hospital on April 30. They did tests and May 1 and on May 2 she was diagnosed with cancer. It was in her kidneys, her stomach, her spleen, her liver, her colon, and the lower part of her lungs. The doctor said she had less than 6 months. It turned out she had less than that. She passed away on May 23. Exactly 3 weeks after being diagnosed with the cancer. She never knew what she had.

It is so difficult to write about this, but I feel I need to. I love my mother so much and I am really, really having a tough time with her death. God gave me 6 months to spend with her before He took her home, and I am so grateful for that time. But, I still needed more time. I know that sounds selfish, but I can't help it. She was the most wonderful mother, ever. She always said, "My kids are my life." And, she meant it. She made so many sacrifices for us and we always knew we were loved. She always told us she loved us and it made it easy for us to tell each other we love each other, too.

I will try to write more later. I'm not as good at blogging as Bill is, but maybe I can get better at it. Maybe someday I will actually have some "treasures" to put on Grandma's Treasure Chest.