jmcquown wrote:
And thank you all for your kind thoughts and words

I've only just been able to start to grieve for my mother. I was here
with my mother died. The caregiver was here from the agency and the
hospice nurse. Then the funeral director. I made all the arrangements.

My brothers showed up and frankly, I thought they'd never leave. LOL
They finally left me alone today. I said just don't come over. I'm
done, leave me alone, I'm not going to talk about this anymore. I'll
take care of everything. Just like I always do.

They don't fly out until tomorrow but thankfully they let me have today
to myself. I really needed time to take a breath, you know?

So the woman from the National Cemetery called today to ask me what I
wanted on Mom's marker. Oh, I hadn't thought about that. When Dad died
I got papers with suggestions. Mom selected something. I didn't get
anything like that so I was at a loss. I said, um, Beloved Wife and
Mother to Paul, Scott and Jill 1-29-26 to 11-22-2008. She said that
might be to long.

Oh, okay. Beloved Wife and Mother. She asked don't you want her years
listed in case someone 100 years from now is doing geneology research?
Oh for gawds sakes, woman! Everyone in her family is dead except us! I
can't think about this right now. It never lets up, does it?

Persia is right there next to me every evening, just head butting me and
tapping my nose with her soft little paw. Used to be just to get me to
feed her, now she's just offering comfort and headbutts. What a sweet
girl I'd be lost without her. My brothers never saw her.

Jill

Aren't you glad you brought Persia with you, this trip? It's
astonishing how much comfort an alleged "dumb" animal can provide, when
you need it. How anyone can actually believe that "companion animals"
lack intelligence is beyond me! (It may not be quite the SAME as human
intelligence, but sometimes that's a plus.)