Today we buried my mother in law, Norma Collins. She died last Thursday. It was very sudden and unexpected. I lost both of my parents six years ago in
September and December. That was hard,
but it was nothing to compare with what we went through these last few
days. Like I said her death was very
sudden.
I will be the first to admit I didn’t have the best
relationship with my MIL. We didn’t see
eye to eye on everything. But we did
have some interesting conversations. We
shared the love of reading. We have read
some of the same books and we both enjoyed discussing books on more than one occasion.
Another thing we both enjoyed was the great outdoors. I have
a love of flowers and gardening. Norma
also loved working in her flower beds.
Until the last few years when the drought played havoc with her
gardening, she always had plants in both flower beds and in several containers
around her yard. I enjoyed getting her
outside and quizzing her about her flowers.
Last year I got some seeds from her and plan on getting them in the
ground this coming spring.
As with anyone who was getting up in age, Norma had her
share of problems. Last fall she had
her right knee replaced. She was
scheduled to have the left replaced this spring. A few weeks ago she had fallen in the
backyard and broke the knee cap on her left leg. This left her with a cast and limited
mobility. Thursday of last week started
as a normal day for us. Around 12:40
Susan called and said she was headed to Medicine Lodge: Something was wrong with her mom. I told her to give me 20 minutes and I would
be home and go with her. Ten minutes
later I took a phone call from Susan’s sister and received the message that her
mom was gone. Hardest thing I have ever
done in my life was to tell my wife her mom was gone.
Today we buried my mother in law. It was a beautiful, pre spring day. We had a grave side service at Sun City
beside the graves of Susan’s brother and dad.
There was a large turnout of family and friends. The preacher had a wonderful message. We had recorded music by Susan’s niece,
Dayna. She had recorded ‘Beulah
Land’. It was beautiful.
To my wife, her sisters: Carol, Joyce, Anita and Merilea,
my sincere heartfelt condolences. My
heart aches along with yours. I know how
much it hurts. I always say tell
stories. It will keep your mom
around. Tell stories so those 11
grandkids and 11 great grandkids remember.
Love you all.
Ivan
