How Hard It Is to Say Good-bye!

Part of the sorrow at losing a loved one is the sense that you could or should have done more. I've been there. My mom lived with us the last four months of her life and, after she died, I remembered all the ways I failed. She died in 2002 and I still tear up when I think of specific times when I could have done something differently or showed her better that I loved her. So I wasn't surprised to get the email below from my friend whose mother-in-law died on Monday. Please keep her and my friend and his wife in your prayers.

My wife is crying often. She says she thinks she could have done more. 

I've got videos from about 5 years ago showing Mom's visible decline in her physical & mental state. Mom's reasoning & mental acuity declined. As time went on very bad decisions were made with her Pekingese, how when and where she would walk him. Especially when Mom would walk the dog at 6 am, with cars on the roadway and darkness all about; not the best of decisions.  Mom would have obvious physical coordination problems, falling off the treadmill in the basement and never alerting us about it.  I can now assume Mom knew she had problems, but was afraid of the changes we'd have her make.  She'd walk up and down staircases arns full of stuff, walking like a 17-year-old with a devil-may-care attitude; knowing I'd enlighten her if I found out.