Mom...

I haven't blogged a lot about my mom lately. It's so hard to share how deeply I hurt when I think of what Mom's going through. It's difficult to even put into words. I asked Dad yesterday how he's sleeping. He said he awakes every time Mom makes a sound...she's always on our minds. I made a pot of vegetable soup and some blueberry muffins for their supper last evening. Ruthie was making a beautiful big lasagna when we got to the folks so we put the soup in the frig for today and had the lasagna last evening. Ruthie has done so much for Mom and Dad...she goes with them most days for her radiation treatments. I know Dad has really grown to depend on her...especially for moral support. Mom saw her family doctor for the first time since her fall in the hospital. He was really upset to see how bruised she is...there's a large hematoma on her cheekbone that isn't getting any better. We kept warm compresses on it last evening but it's still very tender. Mom is so drained of energy from the radiation treatments...it's an effort for her to walk to the bathroom and to even talk. Dad said that she has come to terms with the possibility of her death...he wants her to be hopeful but knows that the doctors haven't really given her a reason to hope. She has a peace about it and knows she'll be with the Lord...but it's so hard to imagine being separated from her until we reach heaven. I just can't put it into words that make sense. I strongly believe that we'll meet again in eternity...but it's so hard to say goodbye. We have always been an affectionate family but I've noticed that all of us take time to say "I love you" more to each other as we anticipate this separation. Mom has been such a loving, giving person all her life. She took care of us seven kids when Dad was working away from home and only came home on the weekends. She taught us all so much about life, God, family and sacrifice.
This weekend their church is having a Homecoming. This is the church we grew up in and I was married in. It was a big part of our lives as we were growing up. It's a little country church with only about 20 members remaining. The church is next door to the house we grew up in. They've had a tremendous response to their invitation to the Homecoming...they're expecting 150 people! Both my kids are planning to come home for it. Mom's brother, a retired pastor, is going to be preaching at the service. Joel is going to sing a song he wrote too. I think my brother is going to videotape it so we can show it to Mom...she feels it would be too emotional for her to attend. I think it will be really emotional for all of us knowing that we'll all be thinking of Mom.