Experiencing the Circle of Life

It has been two weeks since I posted on my blog.  This post explains how I was in the midst of experiencing the circle of life.

My dad turned 93 on July 22nd so we had my parents over for lunch.  While they both use walkers, mom preferred to use her cane for walking short distances.  I was helping my dad get into the house and my husband, John was helping my mom.  Our dogs, Grover and OMalley (Wheaton Terriors) love my parents and Grover ran through the door and jumped up on my mom to greet her as she was holding onto John.  But down she fell.  She cracked her pelvis in three places, was in the hospital for a few days and then the care center at the community where they live.  

Mom was in better spirits and healthier in the month of September than she had been for the past two years.  She was having therapy three times a day, moving more often, and had lost 20 pounds of which she was proud and it made it easier for her to maneuver.  

On October 3rd which was my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary, I planned a private candlelight dinner with my parents, one son (Austin who lives in Des Moines) and John and me at the place where they live.  It was a special celebratory event.  

Mom had worked hard so she could go back to live in the apartment with Dad.  On October 11th, we moved Mom back to the apartment and she was thrilled.  She told me that she could not fall again.  In the middle of the night, on her way to the bathroom, she fell and broke her hip.  She had surgery and we thought she would recover as she has so many times in the past.  For two days, she was fairly good and then they rushed her to the ICU where she stayed for a week.  

Our son, Mac, got married in New York City on Saturday, October 20th.  It was a lovely day for a small and intimate outside wedding.  My sister used FaceTime so my parents could watch the wedding live while in the ICU in the hospital.  They were excited and amazed they could see and hear the wedding live.  (Our three sons below.)

John and I returned home on Sunday evening and Mom was still in the ICU.  After so many days, her body was not responding to the treatment and she was too tired to fight anymore.  We were able to take Mom, Eloise Ann Freed, back to their community to be under the care of Hospice.  Dad and I sat vigil for two days talking to Mom and then she passed to the other side.

During the course of one week, I kept thinking about the circle of life.  Death is a part of life, but it is still hard because it will not be the same.  At our wedding 36 years ago, my sister sang a song by Harry Chapin titled “Circle” and I kept thinking about it all week.

All my life’s a circle …

Circle