Thursday, December 19, 2013

Message from Mom

2001 Calendar by midgefrazel
2001 Calendar, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

 For Christmas 2001, we gave my mother a calendar of lighthouses. After she died in June 2002, I had the awful task of sorting through drawers and selling the furniture that we did not take. 

In with a drawer with the phone book I found the calendar that we gave her the year before with this lovely message on it. I ripped this page off and kept it.

It says she appreciated the effort we made to make a nice Christmas for her that year. I really think she felt that she had had enough of her life but lived another year. I had to shut off the machines, as she had directed, so this made me feel better about doing so. 

Christmas can be a sad time of year for many people. If so, should be remembered as part of the balance of life.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Midge, I went through the same at Christmas in 2008 so I know that feeling as an only child quite well. Very sweet post. Good that you kept that calendar page.

CarmenMJ said...

Midge,
I lost my mother the day after Christmas - 8 years ago this year. She had been diagnosed with her second bout of lung cancer on the 22nd and died just four short days later. She had a great Christmas eve which is when we opened presents and she wanted to talk late into the night...after three hours of sleep the night before, I was dead on my feet. I think Mom knew the end was near. She really wasn't all that aware of things on Christmas Day and passed away the next day. I think she was determined to do it the way she wanted to. I miss her terribly - but I use Christmas to celebrate her - because she loved Christmas so much. All the ornaments, knickknacks, etc remind me of her in a good way.