In Mom's Memory

No words can describe the feelings you have,
when you watch your parent die.
No words can prepare you for how much you will miss them,
or for how long before you stop hurting,
just thinking about them.
No words will ever bring them back.
My Mom died of Cancer.
She was valiant to the end.
Ever increasing pain did not stop her from worrying about all her loved ones.
She was the kindest, most positive person I have ever known.
Life was not always kind to her, yet she rose above the obstacles
and lived her life to the fullest possible.
My Mom was my hero.

My Mom and Dad, friends to the end.
This picture was taken in July 1995 in a nursing home where my mom decided
she would stay as not to be a burden to to her family. After one month,
I found the words to convince her to come home with me,
that I would gladly have carried her to the ends of the earth.
I told her she had given up her whole life for her family
and that this would be the one opportunity I would have to show her how much I
loved her. She came home to us then.

Do not stand by my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of
Quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the stars that shine at night.
Do not stand by my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die.

- Abdee

Here is my Mom (right) and her best friend, Ileana (left).
This picture was taken in October of 1994
on their cruise up the New England Seaboard.
I can never thank Ileana enough for living with us during my mom's illness.
She helped make my mom's last days in this life more bearable.

Take this dove and
place it on your pages
To show your support
for Cancer research
and Survivors everywhere.

I would like to thank the wonderful people at Ramona VNA & Hospice and Home Hospice of Walnut Creek.

Their help got us through one of the hardest
times of our lives and made it possible for
my mother to die at home, with those that loved her more than words can ever say.

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