"Valley of the shadow of death..."

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:24:44 -0400, Rob Martin <tristaanus DeleteThis @yahoo.com>
wrote:

[snip]
>"I'm standing before all of you because you've expressed concern
>for my Mom and her well being. I figured y'all deserved to know
>the latest.
[snip]
>Rob Martin

This reminds me of a song one of my friends wrote for another friend
whose mom was dying. It's a beautiful song, and the lyrics alone
don't really do it justice, but they'll have to do in this case...

----

Hello Again, by Ray Yates

There's a place up high
In the sweet by and by
Where all is love and the warmest of light
I have gone far away
Just couldn't stay
And now my soul takes flight

I will see many lands now that I am free
Of all of the burdens that were once upon me
You can see how I feel by the smile on my face
We'll all meet again in this holy place

And I'll fly
The heavens they call me to the stars up above
And I'll flow
I'll leave the earth far below
And I'll go
This is not goodbye, my family, my friends
I'll wait 'til we say "Hello Again."

You may think that I'm gone
Cause my body's passed on
But if you look deep inside you'll find me there
Or you'll see me up high
In the western sky
You'll feel me watching and know that I care

The pain was so bad that I left in a rush
But I want you to know that I love you so much
I am on a vacation somewhere far away
We'll all meet again one sweet day

And I'll fly
The heavens they call me to the stars up above
And I'll flow
I'll leave the earth far below
And I'll go
This is not goodbye, my family, my friends
I'll wait 'til we say "Hello Again."

There is never goodbye.
Just hello again.

----

Many hugs for you and your family, Rob.

-Sapphire.

Goddess of Unfinished Projects
High Priestess of Mess
Empress of Entropy!!
Co-Founder (with Victoreia and Shaunesay) of the Sisterhood of Mess
Lead guitar for the abml out-of-practice musicians' band
Officially licensed pedant (Thanks Bookwurm!)
Co-President (with Shaunesay) of the Voice Club
Wench #858
 >> Stay informed about: "Valley of the shadow of death..." 

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:08:35 -0500, Sapphire stomped through my
brain with:

>This reminds me of a song one of my friends wrote for another friend
>whose mom was dying. It's a beautiful song, and the lyrics alone
>don't really do it justice, but they'll have to do in this case...

<snip the lovely lyrics>

Thanks, Sapphire. That was gorgeous.

Dang it, and I was doing SOOO well today keeping it in.

You guys have been fantastic. Thank you so much for all the
support.

Mom is still hanging on...she was always a fighter. She's
comfortable and resting at a hospice facility closer to home.
Friends and family have not been leaving Dad alone and he GREATLY
appreciates it... he doesn't want to be alone.

Charis' biggest concern is for her Grandpa. "Won't he be lonely?"

Talia was looking at pictures of Grandma with me the other day
(sorting through pictures to find all the pix of Mom I can) and
she said something on the lines of liking what Grandma looked
like in those pictures and that she will miss Grandma.

Some days are easier than others. But we'll make it through.

Thanks again, everyone.

Rob
 >> Stay informed about: "Valley of the shadow of death..." 

It is amazing how many lives one person can influence.

It sounds as if your Mother is a truly special woman. You
and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

((((((((((HUGS))))))))))

Snowfire - the exhausted - whose harp is magically in tune
and in practice for your Mom.
 >> Stay informed about: "Valley of the shadow of death..." 

Mom is still hanging in there. I got a phone call on Thursday
from my Dad expressing that he thought that was the end of her
lucid time and that, if I wanted to have any moments with her
before she died, I needed to be there.

So, Thursday afternoon I drove to the hospice care center and
spend the rest of the day there and even spent the entire day
Friday there. Thursday was definitely a low day for Mom. Her
breathing was very slow and somewhat labored. She was not very
lucid at all and was barely conscious. That night, my siblings,
myself, and my Dad spent some time after all the visitors left,
around Mom's bed and basically let her know that she didn't need
to hang on any more. That we would be all right. That she did a
great job raising us and that we were taking care of each other.

That was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

Then Mom turns around and Friday is relatively chipper, cheerful,
alert and interactive. What an amazing woman.

I had a moment on Friday that was precious to me that I thought I
would share with you all. There was a time when I was alone in
the room with her. Other family members were greeting visitors
in the hallway, or out taking phone calls, etc. So, I had a few
private moments with her. I sat on the edge of her bed and got
over in front of her face so she could see and recognize me. I
let her know that I loved her. That she did a good job raising
me. That she taught me well and that I was doing well. After a
bit of this I just sat there looking into her eyes and smiling
and trying to convey as much love as I could for her. She looked
back and then brought her right hand up to her close mouth and
tapped it gently with her two fingers. I said, "Do you want a
kiss, Mom?" She nodded yes so I leaned over and gave my Mom a
kiss on her lips. She reached her hand up to my head and stroked
my hair as I gave her a gentle hug.

That is a memory I will treasure.

As of last night, July 1st, Mom has slipped into a coma-like
state. Whether it is from the progression of the disease, from
the increased narcotic levels, or a combination of the two the
nurse couldn't say, but she was not interacting with my Dad any
more. We're coming nearer to the of the journey. But what a
journey it has been. Each visitor that comes to Mom's room comes
with the intention of ministering to her and to us as a family.
But most of the time, they end up being ministered to by my Mom.
She is an amazing woman and has touched HUNDREDS of lives in ways
that we are just now beginning to discover.

Another story of my Mom that I just heard involved her moving
from Hershey to the hospice facility. My Dad was interviewing
with the Hospice co-ordinator, answering questions on medical
history, treatments, etc. At the end of the interview, the
co-ordinator looked at my Dad and said, "This isn't the Miriam
Martin that was involved in the Transformation Committee, is it?"
(This was a committee created by the larger Mennonite Church in
the United States and Canada to re-merge to branches of the
Mennonite church that had split out back in the 1800's. Mom was
a very active and influential member who was deeply involved in
healing the rifts between the two branches of the church). When
my Dad said, "Yes, it is", she said, "I was hoping you wouldn't
say that."

There are hundreds of these stories coming to light now and I'm
sure there are hundreds more to come.

Thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes.

Rob
 >> Stay informed about: "Valley of the shadow of death..." 

Rob Martin wrote:
> I had a moment on Friday that was precious to me that I thought I
> would share with you all. There was a time when I was alone in
> the room with her. Other family members were greeting visitors
> in the hallway, or out taking phone calls, etc. So, I had a few
> private moments with her. I sat on the edge of her bed and got
> over in front of her face so she could see and recognize me. I
> let her know that I loved her. That she did a good job raising
> me. That she taught me well and that I was doing well. After a
> bit of this I just sat there looking into her eyes and smiling
> and trying to convey as much love as I could for her. She looked
> back and then brought her right hand up to her close mouth and
> tapped it gently with her two fingers. I said, "Do you want a
> kiss, Mom?" She nodded yes so I leaned over and gave my Mom a
> kiss on her lips. She reached her hand up to my head and stroked
> my hair as I gave her a gentle hug.
>
> That is a memory I will treasure.

If there's anything I can do, I'm not that far away. All best
thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

-----
Iva
 >> Stay informed about: "Valley of the shadow of death..."