Yesterday, August 2, was the 11th anniversary of my mom’s death.
11 years.
Pancreatic cancer took her when she was just 73 years old. Way too young.
But cancer does that, doesn’t it?
My dad had passed away from a heart attack just 16 months before, so now my siblings and I were orphans.
I wasn’t there when my mom breathed her last. My family and I had plane tickets to go see her just a few days later, but she was on the other side of the country, so nothing was 
going to happen quickly. My two sisters and my brother were all there, though.
They got me on the phone in her hospital room and put the phone to her ear. I could hear her heavy breathing. I told her not to wait 
for us. It was OK. She could go. We would be alright.
I tear up even now writing those words.
It wasn’t long after that and she was gone.
No more care packages in the mail for whatever reason. Or no reason.
No more phone calls just to see how we were.
She would miss Morgan’s first day of kindergarten. Justin’s first job. Nathan starting college. Weddings, babies, graduations. Her great grandchildren, whom she would have adored.
Miss you, Mom. It’s not the same without you.
This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!
9 years ago this month, she was wearing her favorite big, fluffy bathrobe. Undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, she sensed her struggle was coming to an end and she didn’t have the wherewithal to get dressed most days. While I was with her, a hospice nurse came in and talked to us about the future. We arranged for Meals on Wheels to bring food several times a week. I talked to the postal deliverer about bringing her mail down to the front door because her mailbox was at the top of a steep driveway.
Miss you, Mom. You would be proud of your grandkids. The one who had a baby almost a year ago and would have made you a great grandma. The one who graduated from college this year and already has a job. The ones who got married and are making new lives for their families. The one who opened his own business and has been written up in several publications because of it. The one who started college and wants to be a law enforcement officer. The one you never met, who learned to tie his own shoes and loves Star Wars. The one who loves horses just like I do and takes riding lessons and has been in horse shows. The one who will be a high school senior and is trying to figure out where he wants to go and what he wants to do.
Compelled 