I am not sure how well this article will unfold since I am dealing with the death of my mother.
She passed away early Friday, October 18.
Needless to say, this is not easy to experience, talk about, or write about. As I work through this, my mind is scattered, and I forget what I did just five minutes ago!
In dealing with grief and all the feelings surrounding it, I am choosing to focus on the blessings I can find. Maybe you believe there are no blessings in dealing with death. But I can assure you that if you look hard enough, you can find them.
Here are the blessings I see during my time dealing with death: 
- My mother is no longer suffering. The last months, especially the last few weeks, she was immobile and delusional. The medical people felt she was in pain, so she was given a low dose of morphine. Now, in death, she can be at peace.
- My local family no longer needs to worry about juggling schedules to be with her so she can have extra care.
- The family can come together to support one another during this time. My family has been fractured over the years, and this time can be healing for us. Personally, I am dealing with my grief by spiritually and emotionally supporting those most heavily involved with taking care of her passing.
- I no longer need to experience the decline and loss of my mom while she was still breathing. Watching someone die is not pleasant, and I left my shifts with her in tears most days.
- Since I am not in my family’s inner circle, I am not exposed to the day-to-day details necessary to settle her estate. I can see how that is wearing on my sister.
- I get to experience an immense outpouring of love and support from friends from all over.
- This is a special time of reflection on my life and mortality. I hope the Spirit will reveal ways in which I may need to change my perspective on life and death.
Her local funeral is on November 2 at the Catholic Church that she has attended for the last 28+ years. From there, my brother is taking her back to California to be buried next to my dad, who passed nearly 30 years ago.
NOTE: While I was still trying to get my head around her death, a friend sent me this very comforting poem.
It will all be over soon!