Goodbyes are not Forever.

We lost Nana today at about 11:50 am today.  The official time of death might be later, but I know for a fact when it occurred because both Mom and I were alone with her when it happened.  We were holding Nana's hand, and she was experiencing a resurgence of discomfort and pain just before I arrived there.  A medic team arrived per usual, and used a small syringe to squirt something to help with the pain directly into her open mouth.  The labored terrible noises of breathing began to slow.  And as we held her hands, she simply stopped breathing.  Mom looked up to her face and said, "She's gone."  And that was that.  Mom kissed her forehead, and we sat there alone with her for ten minutes or more, just the three of us, contemplating so much.  It was difficult.

Uncle George's flight was canceled and he missed a connecting flight as well, the end result being his late arrival.  If not for that cancelled flight, he would have been there with us.  But he arrived a bit later.  Pastor Lance and our friend Tytus arrived before though, getting to the nursing home just after the staff there did us a great service, cleaning Nana up and putting her into a fresh pair of pajamas, wrapping her arms around the teddy bear she loved so much.  The image you see above is in a frame, something that greets the residents at the front door as they arrive, announcing the sad passing.

Pastor Lance and Tytus took me over to Panera, and I got Mom some of the soup she's been enjoying lately.  The four of us prayed together, and talked for a bit before Lance and Tytus had to head back to the church.  Word would spread soon enough.  We'll tell England tomorrow when we can talk about it, rather than posting something on social media.  That can wait too - we'll post the image above later.

Uncle George did arrive, and we were making arrangements with the funeral home, the moving company, and other things too.  When Maddie got home from school, we told her as well, and she took it well.  We've been bracing her for this moment for some time now, and Maddie's last memories with Nana were good ones, with her smiling and laughing with Nana at the hospital.

It was a hard day, today.  Despite the fact that we knew this was coming, it was nonetheless a very difficult day.  We sat on the front porch, talking for a bit and reminiscing.  I had collected quite a bit of photos throughout the day, putting them in a folder so that all of us could watch somewhat of a slide show later on, the presentation bringing hundreds of memories, smiles and tears.

We said our prayers tonight, and we read too of course.  Tonight we got to bed early, as Mom did not sleep last night, and all of us were very exhausted.