Death and Dying II

His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do – the best ones. The ones who rise up and say “I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come.” Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places.

Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Death comes quickly, before

the living are ready.

It steals the ones we love

away from our presence

but takes them to the place

they have been longing for

their whole lives.

I was honored to be with

my beloved Aunt

as she crossed over from this world

to the next.

I played her favorite Christian music,

held her hand,

sang to her,

talked softly to her,

told her I loved her,

and that it was okay to go

throughout the evening.

The Respiratory Therapist in me

wanted to pound her chest

administer a breathing treatment

to take away the rattling

that hurt my heart

during the process,

but I could not.

However, the nurses and physician

ensured me that with the medication

she was comfortable,

and her face showed no signs of pain.

In the end, her exit from this life

was peaceful and easy.

So peaceful, in fact,

that I didn’t know it happened

for a couple of minutes.

No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without warning.

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Fast forward two days…

now dealing with the fallout

trying to honor her wishes

while dealing with family

wanting their ‘share’.

I promised her I would

do as she wanted,

and honor her wishes.

I am strong.

I can do this

for my Aunt who

was like a second mother to me.

She encouraged and supported,

built me up, held me up,

and kept me going

during dark times.

I will do this

last thing for her

in her memory.

💔 XO Lisa