So long Mom!

Partying with Mom 2/21/2012

January 14, 2013

We just never know, do we...  I woke up this morning and the sun was shining ~~ I had slept hard through the night and was feeling a bit groggy.  I drank some coffee, did a blog, and read through some Psalms.

Mom had been released from the hospital yesterday morning to go back to the nursing home.  She did well until early afternoon and Sundowner's Syndrome kicked in big time.  We had decided to visit Mom early today before we made a trip to Waco knowing that mornings are her best time.  Little did we know this would be our last visit.

When we walked into Mom's room, we were shocked.  She was sitting in her wheel chair unable to hold her head up.  We tried putting in her teeth, supporting her head, and making her comfortable.  Her breathing was raspy and the gurgling sound coming from her chest was frightening.  Her nurse put her back into bed and started suctioning her to help ease her breathing.  In a matter of moments, Mom was deep in the throws of dying.  Michael had gone across the hall and I ran to get him.  We reached her bedside in time to say our "I love you's" and then, she was gone.  Death came that quickly...

In so many ways, the past week I spent with her in the hospital was a gift ~~ a time to minister to her, to pray with her, and tease as girls do.  We talked about our journey of the past ten years and how grateful I had been to be her daughter.  She called me her angel and wondered how I could give her so much love.  Mom's greatest fear has always been that she would die alone.  We have been praying that wouldn't happen yet knew we couldn't be with her 24 hours a day.  God honored her prayers and ours!  God's timing was perfect.  Thank you, Jesus!!

Mom always had to be dressed for the occasion!!

The nurses and aides were so kind.  They explained the after death process of preparing the body and I asked if I could stay.  I hugged Mom and told her that we were going to clean her up and prepare her for the next leg of her journey.  The aides bathed her and put lotion on her frail body.  We put a clean nightgown on her and sprayed on some of her favorite cologne ... one of the nurses said, "There, there Miss Hollywood, you's ready for the party waiting on you."  So many of the nurses and aides that were in the nursing home came in to pay their respects and offer comfort to Michael and I.  Mom had been lovingly cared for the five years she was at Town Hall.

The funeral director arrived to take Mom ... it sure was tough letting her go.  She and I had built quite a bond.  In the time that we left the nursing home and came home, time seemed to stand still ... what had happened in the minutes between noon and 12:39pm seemed surreal.  She looked so beautiful when I gave her that last hug and kiss ... yep, she really was Miss Hollywood!

Partying with Mom 7/4/2012

The tears that stain my cheeks are hot ... my eyes burn and there is this overwhelming urge to throw up.  My job now is to comfort Michael, my husband, the only child of Henry and Virginia Seidler.  It is most difficult to think of one's parent as "gone."  No more conversations, no more visits, no more anything ... what's left behind are the memories shared and the love exchanged.  As I write this, images of Mom are running through my mind at warp speed.  I stop my weeping and smile ... I know Miss Hollywood will be remembered by so many people, me included.

Virginia Ann Tinsley Seidler

God tells us to bloom where we are planted.  To reach out and touch those whose lives we come in contact with.  He tells us to be kind, thoughtful, and loving ... we are to be his ambassadors on earth.

Listen up, Readers!  Miss Dottie declares this a reach out and touch a life day!!  I touched Mom's life and she touched mine ~~ two imperfect souls coming together in an imperfect world colliding to make a perfect unforgettable friendship!

Always remember you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!!

Miss Dottie

PS  "The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." ~~ Harriet Beecher Stowe