Dear Mom - 1 week later
Dear Mom,
Today marks a week since your spirit went onto better things. I truly wish that things are better for you now. I was thinking about just how many illnesses you had in your body before all of this started:
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Weak kidneys
Edema
Arthritis
Diabetes
Asthma
Bad allergies (chronic coughing)
Back pain from an injury years ago
Early stages of dementia
Neuropathy
Shingles
You never let those stop you from enjoying your life with me at the house, you still went out to the CVS drug store, you still went grocery shopping (and bought too many things), still wanted to go shopping at Kohl's, watched TV, read books and magazine, surfed the web and watched videos online, did a lot of cooking, etc... I always thought it was funny how you said the stores here are HUGE compared to what you had in Port Huron. Aunt Tiffany confirmed what you had told me in the hospital - you were happy to have moved down here from Michigan. Thanks Mom, I really enjoyed having you around the house too!!! I now understand why you wanted to come back home so many times when you were in the hospital and in the assisted living facility; this home is your happy place.
Photo from https://fortlauderdaleflorist.com/cdn/shop/products/
I received some more sympathy cards and the human resources department sent a bouquet of flowers to me. It's been extremely hard living without you. I think Aunt Eleanor and Uncle David noticed just how hard I was crying when I saw your body and told Aunt Tiffany. Eva says she's okay. I told her I am crying a lot and not sleeping very well. Today, I also told Roland, the mailman that you passed away last week.
Cousins Carol Soo and Gene Huang on Dad's side told me they could not make it to your memorial on August 24th, 2024. I am hoping Ted can make it. Carol said she has lots of good memories with you and Dad. Laurie Fleece Restrepo (I think you met her once or twice when I was at WMU) said she WILL attend and so did one of my friends (Scott) from taekwondo.
Aunt Tiffany sent some photos of you that I will scan in and clean up. That will take some time. I'll start this weekend.
They had Alzheimer's on the death certificate as the underlying cause of your body's death. Aunt Eleanor and I didn't quite agree with that, however, we didn't ask for an autopsy. Eva pointed out that you had dementia, but other than memory loss, I thought you did okay. Carol thought so too. You never got really mad at me when you lived here, but I heard you got mad at the assisted living facility and at the hospital.
Both Eva and Aunt Eleanor said you listened to me more than anyone else. I was planning to tell you to let go and not hold on just for me because your poor body was really suffering on Monday. I prayed to God that you would give me a sign if you were going to get better and if not, then let go and you did. Prior to that, I kept asking you to try and get better, keep fighting, and don't give up. Thanks for doing that for me. I really enjoyed our quiet time in the evenings at the hospital and the assisted living facility. You often fell asleep while I was there, but that's okay. I remember a couple of times, you woke up and were surprised that I was still there. I remembered to tell you "I love you" just about every visit - I forgot to say that to Lau Lau, so I made sure I said that to Dad and you. A few times, you hugged me back, kissed me, and told me, "I love you". I never knew I made you so happy. Aunt Tiffany once told me you said to her that "Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the love I have for my children and that love grows stronger all the time.".
I trimmed some of Baby Ben's nails yesterday and today. It's still a white knuckle wrestling match even if I reward him with treats. I have to take him in for some vaccines and a checkup tomorrow. I never knew how much you loved him until I noticed how you perked up whenever we mentioned Baby Ben at the hospital. His name was the last thing I heard and understood what you said.
Okay, Mom, we'll talk again later.
Take care and I hope your spirit is doing well.
Today marks a week since your spirit went onto better things. I truly wish that things are better for you now. I was thinking about just how many illnesses you had in your body before all of this started:
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Weak kidneys
Edema
Arthritis
Diabetes
Asthma
Bad allergies (chronic coughing)
Back pain from an injury years ago
Early stages of dementia
Neuropathy
Shingles
You never let those stop you from enjoying your life with me at the house, you still went out to the CVS drug store, you still went grocery shopping (and bought too many things), still wanted to go shopping at Kohl's, watched TV, read books and magazine, surfed the web and watched videos online, did a lot of cooking, etc... I always thought it was funny how you said the stores here are HUGE compared to what you had in Port Huron. Aunt Tiffany confirmed what you had told me in the hospital - you were happy to have moved down here from Michigan. Thanks Mom, I really enjoyed having you around the house too!!! I now understand why you wanted to come back home so many times when you were in the hospital and in the assisted living facility; this home is your happy place.
Photo from https://fortlauderdaleflorist.com/cdn/shop/products/
I received some more sympathy cards and the human resources department sent a bouquet of flowers to me. It's been extremely hard living without you. I think Aunt Eleanor and Uncle David noticed just how hard I was crying when I saw your body and told Aunt Tiffany. Eva says she's okay. I told her I am crying a lot and not sleeping very well. Today, I also told Roland, the mailman that you passed away last week.
Cousins Carol Soo and Gene Huang on Dad's side told me they could not make it to your memorial on August 24th, 2024. I am hoping Ted can make it. Carol said she has lots of good memories with you and Dad. Laurie Fleece Restrepo (I think you met her once or twice when I was at WMU) said she WILL attend and so did one of my friends (Scott) from taekwondo.
Aunt Tiffany sent some photos of you that I will scan in and clean up. That will take some time. I'll start this weekend.
They had Alzheimer's on the death certificate as the underlying cause of your body's death. Aunt Eleanor and I didn't quite agree with that, however, we didn't ask for an autopsy. Eva pointed out that you had dementia, but other than memory loss, I thought you did okay. Carol thought so too. You never got really mad at me when you lived here, but I heard you got mad at the assisted living facility and at the hospital.
Both Eva and Aunt Eleanor said you listened to me more than anyone else. I was planning to tell you to let go and not hold on just for me because your poor body was really suffering on Monday. I prayed to God that you would give me a sign if you were going to get better and if not, then let go and you did. Prior to that, I kept asking you to try and get better, keep fighting, and don't give up. Thanks for doing that for me. I really enjoyed our quiet time in the evenings at the hospital and the assisted living facility. You often fell asleep while I was there, but that's okay. I remember a couple of times, you woke up and were surprised that I was still there. I remembered to tell you "I love you" just about every visit - I forgot to say that to Lau Lau, so I made sure I said that to Dad and you. A few times, you hugged me back, kissed me, and told me, "I love you". I never knew I made you so happy. Aunt Tiffany once told me you said to her that "Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the love I have for my children and that love grows stronger all the time.".
I trimmed some of Baby Ben's nails yesterday and today. It's still a white knuckle wrestling match even if I reward him with treats. I have to take him in for some vaccines and a checkup tomorrow. I never knew how much you loved him until I noticed how you perked up whenever we mentioned Baby Ben at the hospital. His name was the last thing I heard and understood what you said.
Okay, Mom, we'll talk again later.
Take care and I hope your spirit is doing well.