Thanks everybody. Your kind and loving words mean the world to me.

I think my mother died exactly as she would have wanted to. She had spent a full day with her whole family around her. She even made sure that a group photo was taken. Maybe on some level she knew she was about to leave, and she wanted us all to have something to remember our last day with her.

I feel at peace with my part in her passing. Everyone except my father, my son, and I had left by the time my father realized she was in distress. I held her while my father waited outside for the ambulance. She died on the way to the hospital, so she didn't have to suffer for too long. I feel that I was lucky to have the opportunity to be there for her at the end of her life, and I feel good that she didn't have to feel alone during the whole ordeal.

I waited at the house while my father went to the hospital. While I was waiting for word of her condition, I felt her spirit come to me. I knew deep down that she had probably passed. I could feel that she was happy.

I think she lived the life she wanted, and she left this life in the way she would have wanted. We can't ask for much more than that, can we?

I think she's going to hang around for a while because she's too stubborn to leave before the funeral. Then I think she's going to move on to new adventures. More power to her.

Happy trails, Mom. See you on the other side.

Carol