Vi,
I haven't been able to respond sooner, but wanted you to know that your pain and situation have touched me deeply and I'm keeping you in heart-prayer (along with Ben in Afghanistan) [I can't remember whose son Ben is, but he's been deeply entrenched in my heart and being, and so are you now].

Francine, your story about your Mom (and Dotsie's too) also moved me to tears. I lost my Mom to cancer almost three years ago...I wanted to have the same story as yours, but after staying with her all night, hubby finally stepped in at 5am and insisted I go lay down in the waiting room couch for 20 minutes. He stayed with her, and it was as if she had refused to die while any of her children were in the room (it would have been like her to want to protect us from that pain, even though we all WANTED to be with her at that moment), because 5 minutes after I left, she died.

I'm still grieving, and have had a very tough time with that grief, but like Dotsie says, when one has faith in the afterlife, it's a bittersweet grief. I'm miss her so much, but am really happy she's where she is now. And I have the joyous blessing of looking forward to seeing her again someday.

Vi, we're praying for/with you and keeping you close in our hearts throughout this tough journey. I hope our care and heart-prayers keep you warm and safe all along the way.

[ June 09, 2005, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: Eagle Heart ]