Monday, February 18, 2013

Sitting

It was a good weekend, sitting next to Aunt Maisy's bed, visiting with all her visitors, ten or more of us in the hospital room at a time, talking and laughing, the mood paradoxically sad and festive, taking turns holding her hand. Her son was in full military uniform as he was due to report for deployment on Saturday night, but got it put back by another day, so that he didn't leave until Sunday. Relatives had driven down from other cities to see her. Her nephew who attends college in Washington D.C. was there. I was there. She gazed at her daughter with a kind of radiance in her eyes and said, "Look at all the people who love me." And she kept saying, "It went very well." The phone calls from other places kept coming in, and again and again, Aunt Maisy told her callers in a raspy whisper, "Everything went well. Everything went so very well," and after a while, I realized she was talking about her life.




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9 comments:

  1. Ms. MoonFebruary 18, 2013 at 10:36 AM

    And how good. How very good that it all went so well.

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  2. NancyFebruary 18, 2013 at 10:41 AM

    How wonderfully blessed, Aunt Maisy and you, her family, to have each other and how wonderful that she had the awareness to reflect on her life and to appreciate such a sacred farewell. Peace to all of you!

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  3. ain't for city galsFebruary 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    if we can all say that at the end...I'm working on it! So glad you went...

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  4. susan t. landryFebruary 18, 2013 at 12:22 PM

    i think that's what really matters, angella. the going; the sitting; the being there. i *love* what aunt maisy said: Everything went well. dear god, if only we all can feel that way...

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  5. KristinFebruary 18, 2013 at 1:38 PM

    I have an uncle who always said, even at the end, that he wouldn't have changed a thing. sounds like a good, good visit and leave taking.

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  6. deirdreFebruary 18, 2013 at 4:22 PM

    OMG how beautifully you express this and find the ultimate prayer that matters.

    xo dd

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  7. Vesuvius At HomeFebruary 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Oh my god, how stunning, I am stunned. You are a poet. So is Maisy. How quietly gorgeous. Sending love and light to you and your family during this time.

    I know that sad and festive atmosphere. I think it is the truest one.

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  8. ElizabethFebruary 19, 2013 at 1:46 PM

    That gave me chills.

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  9. Steve ReedFebruary 20, 2013 at 3:56 AM

    Well, that's about the best we can hope for, isn't it? A feeling of certainty that our lives went very well.

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