Happy Memories!

Today is the 10th anniversary of my mother's death. I was looking through pictures taken in 2013 and chose several from the last visit with both my parents in January 2013, three months before Mom died. My brother Mark and I stayed for a week and a half as a caregiving team and Mom, while increasingly frail, was still moving well and was her usual optimistic, cheerful self. We took Mom to Soriana, a large grocery store in the city. The wheelchair provided by the store was ridiculously heavy and difficult to steer, and Mark had us all laughing hysterically as he tried to turn the unwieldy chair around the aisles. Mom enjoyed sitting outside but could not resist sweeping the carport or hanging a load of laundry on the wash line. She was able to go to church with Mark while I stayed home with Dad who had recently been diagnosed with a Parkinson's Plus disorder.

Mom kept a bird count on the property and loved to look at the pictures I took. Her favourite Vermillion Flycatcher hunted insects outside the kitchen window. A Loggerhead Shrike fed its demanding fledgling and a baby Altamira Oriole perched in the orange tree. We spent time sitting outdoors enjoying the mountains, trees, birds, butterflies and flowers as well as the company of each other. 

Mom loved good food and it was easy to cook for her. Just before we returned to Canada she ordered a Tres Leches cake for my January birthday and my brothers, nieces and nephews joined my parents in singing a Mexican happy birthday song to me. (It is a long song!)

This trip started eventfully when my passport "disappeared" in the security area of the Mexico City Airport while I was distracted. Mark and my nephew, Simri went above and beyond in helping me get an emergency passport so I could return to Canada. My parents were blessed to have exceptional caregivers and the support of my brother Philip and his family in their last years. Family ties are easily damaged, especially in times of stress and difficulty but it is worth the effort to repair and maintain them. I am thankful for each of my brothers and their families and the bond we share as children of our parents.

Mark took us for a drive up the mountain and we stopped at this outcrop above the town of San Luis de Lozada. I was moved by the imagery of the cross and my parents sitting in the car as they looked over this last stop on their earthly journey. Their faith in Jesus Christ was strong and they devoted their lives to sharing the gospel with others. Mom died on "Earth Day" and she did enjoy her stay here. She would not want us to keep mourning her passing but to rejoice in her hope of resurrection and eternal life. In the meantime, she lives on in her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I know that the many prayers she offered for all of us still rise before God.