Two Special People

16 years ago I lost my Mother and 14 years ago my husband lost his Father. Their deaths happened within two days of each other and today is one of the days. I don’t know much about “the laughing man”, just that his son is also a laugher. We never met but spoke on the phone a few times. It was the morning of his funeral that my husband first showed signs of the coming neurological problems. When we received news of the death we made quick arrangements to drive to CA. We borrowed an RV, looked at the map and decided I-40 would be shorter and quicker. Didn’t stop to think about the travel problems that can show up in early January. We ran into a snow storm outside the Petrified Forest and when the gas station opened the next morning they found us parked at their pumps. Before we got there we had run out of gas, we used the gas from the generator mixed with a gallon of Coleman fuel, then just the Coleman fuel. The RV ran real bad, no compression, but we made it to the station during a storm. When we finally got to CA we changed the plugs and were good as new. It was a journey to remember for sure. I have no doubt “the laughing man” was laughing.
As for Maw, boy was that one great woman. I don’t recall being afraid of death before Maw’s, but after watching her that last day, I definitely have no fear. On Friday night she decided it was time to allow things to run their course and stopped all medications. On Saturday I called my brother and told him he should head on down. We were in Houston at the time. When Maw heard he was coming she perked up and when they arrived she was able to sit up Sunday morning and eat breakfast. During the day Sunday she was in and out of consciousness. My uncle and I were in the room and heard her talking; she asked “what are all these critters doing in my room?” I wish I had asked what kind of critters but I asked where are these critters. Knowing Maw, the critters were small woodland creatures or maybe cats and dogs. She said “there everywhere, on the walker, the TV”, then she dozed off again. After a few minutes she started talking again and asked “Lord, where am I, in a cemetery?” She paused as if listening to the answer. “What am I doing here?’ and another pause. “Oh, OK.” Then she was out again. Later when she was awake she told me she thought she was going to die. I told her yes I know. She said, “No, I don’t think you do”. So I told her the things that she had said earlier and she knew I did understand. She quizzed me during the day, did I pay this, pay that, call ??, and anything else she could thing of. Around 6pm with my husband and me on one side holding her hand and my brother and sister-in-law on the other side holding her hand, she passed over. A smile came on her face and every wrinkle disappeared. Most people look different at their funerals; and in a bad way. She looked better than she had in years. No more stress, no more pain. Her regular hairdresser came in and did her hair and we placed her in a beautiful nightgown. All our lives she was teaching us and even in those last moments she taught us the greatest lesson of all, death is not an end but only a beginning and judging by the look on her face there is nothing to dread.