Angie & Jim

Phone Calls and Family Historyby Jim

Joseph left early this morning to be with his wife, who had knee surgery today. We were sad to see him go, but we all felt it is what Mom would have wanted. (I’m sure she’ll be guiding us for years to come by her example.) I’m pleased to report that the surgery went well and Kelly is on the mend.

This morning I finished up work on the memory tree website with Brittany. I’m happy with the way it turned out and would like to invite anyone reading this to please share with us a memory or two that you have of Mom. There are already several very nice memories for you to read. The link is http://memory-tree.jigawot.net go ahead and go there right now. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

This morning Mom’s “ladies-in-waiting” gave her a sponge bath right in the hospital bed. Her muscles can get very rigid and they had to be careful of the catheter, but overall it went well. It must have been a nice feeling to be all clean again with fresh clothes on because we got a rare smile out of her as well as faint movement of her lips that appeared to be her mouthing “thank you.”

She’s been pretty sleepy most of the day. We swab her mouth and give her little bits of water through a straw. She can only barely swallow, so we have to be very careful how much water we give her.

Tawny, Mom’s hospice nurse, came and took her vitals and helped us to make Mom more comfortable. Her pulse was down a little from last time (though, still higher than normal) and the slight fever she had yesterday has come down also. She said Mom looked comfortable and that we were doing a great job caring for her.

This evening, Dad shared with us the presentation he and Mom put together on family history. They gave it at a stake Relief Society conference a while back and it was such a hit that they agreed to give it in all the wards during ward conference. Dad’s had to give it solo the last few times, which has been hard, but he’s been faithfully fulfilling his assignment. It was a very inspiring presentation about how we can do our family history and how important it is. Family history was always so important to Mom, it was great to hear her contributions to the presentation.

This evening, we sang to Mom as we normally do. She can’t stay awake for very long now, so our singing is often shortened (and restarted later). We didn’t have Joseph with us, but we forged ahead without him. Before we were done, however, he called with Kelly to chat with Mom for a bit. It was very sweet to hear Kelly tell Mom how much she means to her. Their children sang to Mom over the phone and then Kelly sang to Mom. It was really beautiful.

Rebecca made a comment this evening about Mom’s legacy that I thought was quite profound. She said that it is our responsibility to carry on Mom’s memory to our children: That it will be through our stories and recollections that they know her, and that we have the power to mold the way she will be remembered. I hope the memories I have of her never dim so that I can tell my children and my nieces and nephews so that they can benefit from the incredible example that my mother lived.

Just like the last two nights, we’re staying up in shifts to be with Mom in the living room. She’s sleeping peacefully right now. We love you and are grateful for all your support.

Mom’s smile