Weather in the Tries: 

Our warmest day will be Tuesday at 75, with our coolest day on Thu of 68. And our lows will be in the 50s with Sat going down to 46. Yes, I’ve put my fleece sheets on the bed, and a real blanket along with one summer quilt. Soon will come the for real quilt I made for Thomas, but it was too heavy for him to use.

Delightful Trip to the Dark Side:

Had a delightful trip over to the Dark Side, where I spent a few days with Sheryl. I wondered how hard it would be to return to where EBOC Thomas lived the last years of his life and died there. He wasn’t there, and Sheryl said he hasn’t been back that she’s aware of, which makes me feel/think that if there is life after life, he’s off on his adventure, which is exactly where he should be. He doesn’t need to come back here to haunt people;-) though it would be nice if he’d show up for drink and a gab fest and tell us all about it.

As my Uncle Carl lay dying, he had a conversation with his long-deceased father. I sat by U. Carl’s bed, heard his said of the conversation, then there would be a pause, then he’d talk some more. When he was through I asked how the conversation went and he informed me it was good. I asked what Grandpa had to say, “Oh, he said, ‘Mbgliscuescf’ and then he said, ‘gblxdtvw’.” Yeah, well, so much for hearing from the other side of that veil.

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Doula: 

female slave. And that’s really what a Death Doula is, a slave to the dying person and his/her friends and family. We are there to help any way they would like that we can do. There are ways we can’t help as mandated by law. There are some cultures who do not want the bones that survived cremation, pounded into small pieces. But the law in this state says that all bones must be mashed and pulverized. 

Week 2 was the end of the ‘introduction’ and this week coming will be diving into the good stuff. The Death part. Part of the homework was to watch a couple of movies. I’ve finished one, “It’s My Party”—a movie to watch if you want to cry. Goes back to the days of AIDS. My first tears came at 4:23—credits were still rolling. Sheesh. Then again at 20:34, 26:07, 1:05:24, and then at 1:26:27 I started in and couldn’t stop until the movie was over. It’s a beautiful movie, with a lot of lough out loud moments and can be found on YouTube. It’s not all tears. But a beautiful love story. I did volunteer work with people living (though at that time, it was really dying, but we were so damn optimistic) with AIDS. I am so grateful that today it is a chronic illness and controllable.

I haven’t watched the other movie, yet, An Honest Death: A Palliative Care Doctor’s Final Days. The Dr. helped a lot of people, and then came down with cancer, and asked for his final days to be photographed. He was also a Buddhist Priest. It’s short and very interesting. I didn’t cry.

Only one photo today. Took it on the Dark Side and it was so overcast none of the flowers on the hydrangea bush had turned their face to the sun. And all the flower bunches only had blooms around the outer ring. Obviously, Fall is arriving.

From the Paws of the Big Chihuahua:  

Mom says she’ll type as I talk because she doesn’t like all the paw and nails clicking on her keyboard. She also doesn’t like me sitting so close to her coffee. The ghost of her old cat, Tashiko, had come to me shortly after I moved in with Mom, and taught me how to move Mom’s coffee cup. “It’s a game she really likes to play,” she said. Of course, I quickly realized Mom doesn’t like that game, but Tash really enjoyed the prank. I know Mom misses Tash, and I wish she’d come back and play with me, but she doesn’t even come to visit anymore. Says it makes Mom cry. And she’s right. But Mom snuggles with me, now, and I’m a dog and everyone knows dogs are better than cats. Right? Right? 

“Grief and Joy are always holding hands.” –Sandy Yannone