Losing a Mom

I had a classmate lose his mother this last week.  I say classmate, but I should be more specific.  Mike and I were best friends in high school.  We were almost inseparable.  I was always welcome at his house and he was always welcome at mine.  Our dads knew each other before we were born.  I guess we were meant to be friends. 

I have many fond memories of Mike’s mom, Margaret.  One thing that comes to mind is that you could always find a ‘pop’ at their house.  Margaret was a savvy shopper.  She always stocked up and if you couldn’t find it, you probably didn’t need it.  It’s kind of funny the things that you remember.  We are talking 30 + years ago.  Margaret always made you welcome at their house.  Margaret tolerated a lot of things that Mike and I did.  I remember building all kinds of things in Mike’s basement workshop.  I remember staying there the night before the 4^th of July.  We slept on the trampoline.  Don’t know if we slept or not, but we were up most of the night. 

I talked to Mike on the phone today.  He told me his mom was at peace when she decided to have surgery again.  He said that made coping with everything easier.  Losing a parent is not easy, though.  The easy parts are the memories:  The things that you will never forget, no matter how old you are.  Hold on to those memories and pass them on to your kids.

In the end, it’s hard.  Death that is. It seems that it should be the easier part of life.  I mean we are all destined to die.  You‘re born, you live your life, and you die. It sounds simple, but it isn’t.  It sounded like Margaret was ready and at peace.  For that, I am thankful.  Tonight, we should all say a prayer of thanks for the moms in our lives.  Not only our birth moms, but also our extended moms.  I have had many extended moms in my life and I am proud to say Margaret was one of them.   

And Mike, I hope you get to have a ‘good’ day with your Dad.

Ivan