A Daughter's Goodbye

The word came.  My mother had had a heart attack and was in the hospital, in another state, far away.
Far from me, her oldest child, her oldest daughter.


The relatives had gathered in her room.  I called my cousin.  She put me on the speaker phone as my mother took her last breaths.  I was far away, and yet, there.


Now it was time to go there.  New plans made, current plans set aside.  My sister and I were going on the trip  I had always dreaded.



Though she was almost 83, and had suffered with dementia for several years, her death was a shock.  There is no other word to describe it.  Below is the video I made when I returned.

This is the story of my sorrowful trip to be at my mother's funeral in April, 2012.

Though my sister and I traveled together, and we were enfolded by our family, it was a solitary journey.
This video is not truly about my mother, but about me, and my attempt to come to grips with my loss.. We lived hundreds of miles apart, and she suffered with dementia the last few years. In essence, I have been grieving for a long time.

The weather was shockingly unkind. An unseasonable cold front brought wind, rain, and even snow on the day of the funeral.

It is much better on Vimeo but requires an extra click or two.

"You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all."

John 11:25