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| By Dallas Bordon dallasb32@yahoo.com |
She loved her grand kids She loved her husband, her sons and extended family. She enjoyed watching her only grandson grow up playing baseball for many years. She enjoyed watching both granddaughters taking part in so many activities over the years. She enjoyed our yearly trips to Myrtle Beach every June around my birthday. She enjoyed serving as a pastor’s wife and valued her friends, her church and beliefs.
On Thanksgiving Day of this year, this lady that loved to do many things and loved so many people passed away. While watching my mom’s final few days as she was lying in her hospital bed, I knew that the day I have dreaded for years was near. I wasn't prepared for the moment and the realization that her death was one day going to happen. I just couldn't picture it.
My mom suffered for the past two years with signs of dementia which began to worsen just this past year. Along with that disease, she recently developed infection in one lung and lived the majority of her final year on antibiotics. My dad became her full-time caregiver doing what any great husband would do to make sure his wife was well taken care of. On the Saturday prior to her death, she was taken to the emergency room where test results showed a fluid buildup around her heart and one lung. Surgery was required to remove the fluid; she briefly recovered, but on Thanksgiving Day my mom decided that she had enough of the illness and passed away.
The day that I dreaded for so many years had arrived. It was like a bad dream and I knew that I was soon to be wakened, but I was wrong. My mom was in no more pain as she died peacefully with my brother at her side. She was able to see us all briefly that morning one last time; just what she would have wanted.
It’s true what people say about loving your parents now and enjoying your time with them because we can’t go back and make up for lost time after they’re gone. This Thanksgiving Day gave me yet another reason to be thankful. Thankful for her life and legacy she left behind. I have two choices in the days to come; either I can sit around and grieve for days on end or I can be thankful for the 46 years that I have been blessed to be her son. I choose the latter. There will be times I will still grieve, but my memories of her fill me with so much happiness and that can never be taken away. She was everything a son could hope for in a mother; a supporter, an encourager, and had a love for even those people who crossed her from time to time. She would worry often only because she cared so much about her family and always wanted to see each of us happy even if it meant that she had to step out of the spotlight to give way to things we were involved with.
Her love for family was evident and showed through a wide range of her collection of pictures. My mom had her own “Wall of Fame” as she called it. A room in her house dedicated to pictures that covered two walls in collage form of our different stages of life. It’s such a warm feeling each time I walk through that room on my visits and relive memories of family through those pictures. Now each time I look at this wall I will also relive the memories of my mom and will remember the love and dedication she gave us. Even though she proudly called it her Wall of Fame, she never wanted the spotlight. She would do all she could to make sure we knew her loved shined on us always. Now she has finally received her reward as she shines brightly in Heaven surrounded by family and friends that have gone before her. Thank you mom for everything; we love you and you’ll be greatly missed. Rest in peace.
