When Mother's Day Takes a Wrong Turn

Mother's Day is certainly a good day for family gatherings and visiting, sharing, laughing... Our family has been known to do this on Mother's Day and other special days as well, and we look forward to these times, especially when we can all be together. Except when that special day takes a wrong turn. Which Mother's Day did for us this year.

Most of you might remember that Mother lived with me for 4 months last year, and we got her right back to her independent state, and she was able to go back home, which is what she wanted to do. In the last month, and particularly the last few weeks, her health decided to decline and on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 she was called home. We celebrated her life yesterday and got smacked in the face with Mother's Day today.

Not exactly the way we wanted to spend Mother's Day weekend. Not even close.

Instead of focusing on the sad side I want to share the upside of the weekend, because there were upsides and because that's the way she would have wanted this post to go.

The upsides of saying goodbye on Mother's Day weekend:

1. The reminiscing. And did we ever reminisce.  For hours. Talk about something being therapeutic goodness but that's exactly what all our reminiscing did for us. It didn't matter if a tale someone told was one we'd heard one thousand times before we laughed like it was the first time. We remembered and shared and laughed til we cried tears of joy/sorrow if you know what I mean. Mostly joyful tears because we got to be her family. 
2. Family members reunited. How does it happen sometimes that family members become estranged? I don't know, life happens and BAM. Yes, it's sad it takes something like this to bring folks around but instead of focusing on the why we chose to focus on the joy of the reconnecting. And now those who have drifted away are back in the fold. 
3. Visiting with extended family. Have I mentioned that Mother's side of the family is rather large? I've written about our family reunions in the past but a family funeral is almost like a family reunion because everyone who can come, comes and we talk and share tales and laugh like crazy people and we surround one another the kind of love I would hate to have lived my life without. Mother LOVED that extended family and they LOVED her. So do we. Family is better than anything. Even when they're crazy. Which we are but we like it that way.
4. You realize it's not the day but the times that make life special and dear and you are extremely grateful for the time you were allowed to have with your mother and even though she's gone she instilled life lessons to get you through in good times and bad. 

It's a short list because even when you choose to focus on the positives you still had to deal with saying goodbye to your Mother on Mother's Day weekend and it is not pleasant. 

I did love having everyone together. You feel you can survive anything when all your babies and their babies are with you at the same time.

And you know your mother would love watching the youngest member of the family get a drum lesson from his Uncle DrummerBoy--

And become a Wild Feathers fan ---

And get dressed up for the farewell---

And she most definitely would have enjoyed our laughter because tears are to be shed for only a moment and laughter every day. 

Farewell, Mimi, we will carry your legacy of standing tall and strong, of putting family first, of loving to our fullest, of being fiercely supportive of one another, of fighting against social injustices, of finding a reason to laugh in every situation, of that strong work ethic, of putting others ahead of ourselves, of not noticing the color of a person's skin, of being loyal and trustworthy, of always learning something new, of always finding the good in others proudly forward:

Mother (left) and Aunt Betty

Mother and me