Ten days after my last post, my brave little Mother died in the hospital.  My Mom was a fighter.  She loved life and loved her family.  I miss her terribly.  My brother and I are all that is left of my immediate family.

I know my Mom is in a happy, peaceful place.  No more needles and PIC lines and samples.  I finally had to make a horrible decision.  Standing in the emergency room, watching a team of people stick and poke and prod, I told my Mom I loved her.  She looked back at me with her clear eyes and told me she loved me.  She was terrified.  So was I.  I told her it would be alright.  We moved her in to palliative care the next day.  She slept peacefully and talked to me in my waking hours and in my dreams for two days.  She died in her sleep.  She will be missed.

I'll never forget our last Christmas together.  It was both incredibly fun and incredibly tough.  We had tons of snow on the ground.  We got stuck driving to her house and returning home.  But my Mom got her wish.  All my kids were there and everyone took something with them that Christmas Eve night.

Merry Christmas Mom!  We will have chili dogs on Christmas Eve this year and laugh about our whacky family tradition.  A tradition you started and I will carry on and pass down to my children and grandchildren.