My Mother died very suddenly – although not completely unexpectedly – either today or yesterday. She wasn’t found until today (she lived alone and really ought to have been in assisted living, which she refused to do), and my brother called to notify me shortly after. She lived in California (north of San Diego), and my husband and I will be flying out at 6 AM tomorrow morning to help my brother go through her belongings and making any necessary arrangements. I will be away from my computer for the week, which means no Windows on Wildlife this week, and blogging or approving & responding to comments here won’t happen until next week.
I had a… complicated relationship with my Mom. She had been ill for quite some time, although an official diagnosis was never given as she really didn’t want one. I haven’t really processed any of this yet – I’ll have plenty of time during the upcoming week, like it or not. The beginning of next week will hopefully have me more or less back on schedule.
Cynthia, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I understand the complicated mother relationship. I can only hope you find peace in this tough situation.
Thanks so much, Jennifer. It’s so helpful to have the support of friends when life gets crazy…
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss~ wishing you all the best during this difficult time. Take care, jamie
Thank you Jamie – much appreciated.
I love you- please call if you need anything, or want to talk.
Love you too, Suze – thanks so much.
Cynthia – sending you love and our condolences. Hope you find some peace amongst it all. Jenny x
Thanks so much, Jenny – it means a lot to have support from all my blogging friends.
Dear Cynthia – may I also extend my sympathy for the loss of your mother…and I understand the emotional roller coaster you will probably be riding on for awhile. It’s my personal thought that the loss of our mother, no matter how peaceful or not that relationship, triggers our sense of personal security because she is our ‘home’ for the first 9 months of our life! I was searching your websites for an address because I’d like to mail you a brochure that someone gave me years ago that helped me understand the emotions of loss and gave me a hope that sustains me to this day.
I also wanted to compliment you on your blog site (a fellow student in the Skillshare class) – I love the background photo, the title font, layout, etc. I think it would be fun taking a walk with you through the woods – our Creator’s art museum. I plan to come back and read whenever I have time. Wish I could be there to help in some way.
Sherri – thank you so much for your words of support; I am amazed and touched by the outreach of folks in the blogging community. If you’d like my mailing address, you can find it on the ‘contact’ page for my bookstore: http://www.withywindlebooks.com/?page=shop/contactus.
Oh I am sorry about the loss of your Mother and under those circumstances. You have read my blog enough to know that I too had a difficult relationship with my Mother and her illness and death made things very confused. You’ll need time when the immediate needs are over to sit and grieve. I find myself grieving over the loss of a Mother that I never really had as a child or as an adult. It is hard to explain. Take care and be gentle with yourself. Mothers no matter how difficult are still our Mothers… hugs..Michelle
Michelle, you’re exactly right – mothers are still our mothers regardless of how complicated our relationships with them are or might have been. The grieving process has been difficult due to the challenges I faced with my mom over most of my life. In her absence, I find myself struggling to know how to mourn her loss, when there’s so many conflicted feelings wrapped up in it. Thank you so much for your support.
I just found your website and blog and look forward to visiting often and participating in Windows on Wildlife.
My thoughts and heart go out to you about the loss of your mom. I completely relate to the “complicated relationship”, as my grandparents raised me.
I look forward to getting to know you better, as I can already see I love your blog!
Thank you, Misty. It helps to know how many folks out there relate to having a difficult relationship with a parent. It’s definitely an added challenge in the grieving process. I look forward to visiting your blog and your Windows on Wildlife posts. WoW should be up an running next Monday. 🙂