By the time this post appears on social media, I shall be on my way back to my mother’s side as the curtain lowers on this final act.

Mother’s spoken lines are now hushed, her movement stilled.  The breathing is much slower and a bit labored.  Soon the stage will be cleared and the Ghostlight in place.

Several times, these past few weeks, I believed I was bidding Mother a final farewell before those departures.  However, the dear woman put in a few more curtain calls.  As the hospice nurse indicated, this afternoon, there probably will be no further curtain calls.

The grand dame will shortly take her final bow.

My sister and I are waiting in the wings, holding Mother’s hands, waiting for the final curtain so she can quietly slip out the stage door.

It’s surreal knowing my mother will soon depart, but I am at peace.

I am so proud of all her quiet accomplishments and her deserved victories.

I will always know how blessed I am to have been her eldest son.

“A bell is no bell til you ring it, A song is no song til you sing it,

And love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay; love isn’t love til you give it away.”

                                       Oscar Hammerstein II, 1959

Thank you, Mother… you were amazing.

Know you are loved, eternally…