It has been a busy and wonderful weekend! Mom's family - Dad, daughters and their husbands, grandkids and their wives/husbands and greatgrandsons - have all been together. We've each had a chance to talk to Mom/Emma/Oma - and tell her we love her and will miss her. We've watched an old family video, shared fond and funny memories, eaten great food (and lots more chocolate!), cried & laughed and played dominoes together. The last of the extended family will leave this morning and Dad, my sisters (Heather & Reaka), myself and my husband (Brian) will still be here in town to take care of Mom & each other.
It is time for us to ask those of you who would like to visit Mom to please just keep her in your memories as she was before. Mom isn't looking like herself (watching the Family Video we were all reminded of what a beauty she once was and what a knock-out couple Mom & Dad made!) and Mom isn't able to respond to guests any longer. Dad would still LOVE to have people come visit him - he needs your support and is enjoying having his friends share their love for Mom. Please continue to share your memories and Emma Stories on this blog - Dad retreats to the computer several times each day to read your comments and comes away with tears and a Big Smile on his face. We all love hearing your wonderful memories!
My sister, Reaka, has a friend who works with Hospice that gave her some counsel to share with the rest of our family. She suggested that we each be sure to tell Mom the following....
1 - We LOVE you
2 - We will MISS you
3 - We will NEVER FORGET you
4 - We will TAKE CARE of each other
5 - It's OKAY to go
...while she no longer responds, she can hear us...and we know she that when she is released from this body, she will know all that has happened during her last days on earth. We want her to be pleased with the way our family has behaved!
Dad gave Mom a beautiful Priesthood Blessing yesterday. As her husband and the Patriarch of our family, he told her how much he had learned from her, that she had made him a better person, that he would always love her, that she had raised daughters that she could be proud of, that she had lived a wonderful and full life... and more tender thoughts. All of the adult 'boys' in the family were joined in that beautiful circle of prayer and the rest of the family was privileged to listen and share in this sacred experience. Another Tender Mercy!
Among the tender moments we continue to have humor!...
When Dad & I took Mom to the Emergency Room last Sat (Sept 26), the nurse asked Mom several questions - including 'does she wear dentures'. Dad responded 'no'...and I responded 'yes'. Dad was surprised at my answer (and I at his!) and I told him that Mom does wear dentures. I just assumed that he had forgotten about that fact in all the stuff that was going on that day.
Yesterday, it became apparent that Mom's dentures weren't fitting correctly any longer and Dad asked the Hospice nurse to please remove them...which she gently did. Dad told me that he couldn't believe that he didn't know that Mom wore dentures and asked me how I knew about it. I told him that as a little girl I would sneak in to Mom's jewelry box to look at her pretty things and she often kept her bridge (later to become a full set of upper dentures) in there wrapped in a tissue. He was just amazed that after living with Mom and sharing 54 years of life together - he was still learning new things about her! I told him that I thought we would probably continue to learn more new things about Mom for some time to come...she's a woman with many 'layers'!
By the way - after Dad and I laughed about 'the dentures' together, he told me 'you should tell this story on The Blog'...so I'm not revealing any 'dark secrets'!
Monday, October 5, 2009
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What is Your Emma Story?
This blog is a chance to remember and honor Emma by bringing us together in a way that can only be done through a medium like the internet. We love her, we will miss her, but she's here for a short time still, and we want to smile and cry and laugh together with her as much as possible while we can.
Emma has touched a monumental number of lives through her work as a mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, artist, and to Ted as a dear wife. There are countless stories that have already been told many times, and there are many others that we're going to learn for the first time as we read them here.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, STORIES AND PICTURES!!!
Not only will we be able to laugh and smile together, even after Emma has passed, but we will be sharing this blog with Emma. If you have a story, long or short, silly or sad, pensive or outrageous, please take some time and share it with us and Emma.
This is such a dear time for all of us. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and prayers.
It's easy! To post to Emma's blog, send an email to emmaallebes.post@blogger.com. If you have a picture(s) that you would like to add, make it an attachment to the email. Your email will post automatically.
Please remember to include your name somewhere in the email/post.
Emma has touched a monumental number of lives through her work as a mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, artist, and to Ted as a dear wife. There are countless stories that have already been told many times, and there are many others that we're going to learn for the first time as we read them here.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, STORIES AND PICTURES!!!
Not only will we be able to laugh and smile together, even after Emma has passed, but we will be sharing this blog with Emma. If you have a story, long or short, silly or sad, pensive or outrageous, please take some time and share it with us and Emma.
This is such a dear time for all of us. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and prayers.
It's easy! To post to Emma's blog, send an email to emmaallebes.post@blogger.com. If you have a picture(s) that you would like to add, make it an attachment to the email. Your email will post automatically.
Please remember to include your name somewhere in the email/post.
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