A Time of Miracles and Tender Mercies (Part 3)

Continued from last 2 posts:

When Mom was released from the hospital she was given only one restriction. That when she attended the wedding events, she was to use a wheelchair, so she wouldn't tire out too much. I guess they knew her heart had only so many beats left in it.

Here is Mom as she is being wheeled out of the temple.

Mom did not buy a lot of clothes in her life. (She preferred to buy them for her daughters!) It was such fun for me to go shopping with her to get dresses for the wedding. We went to a shop downtown and found not one, but two, green dresses. One she could wear during the day and the other to the reception. I had to insist she get both, and she finally gave in, but it went against her nature. (Somehow I've never had that problem).

I think you can tell she was adored by her grandchildren.



Everyone had a lot of fun teasing her in the wheelchair.
As I watched it, it was me who just about had a heart attack!



A beautiful shot with both Grandmas



The luncheon was held at a bed and breakfast across from the temple.
We had a slide show at the luncheon that had pictures of
Misty and Dan as they were growing up.
My brother told me later how much Mom had enjoyed that.
Especially the picture of my Dad holding Misty when she was a baby.




The reception that night was beautiful.



Of course the bride and groom were the stars of the night,
but Mom came in a close second.

She was able to visit with her sisters and
almost all her nieces and nephews and grandchildren.
After everything she had been through in the last month,
everyone loved seeing her and visiting with her.







I've always been glad there was some fudge there on the
table for Mom to eat.
That was always her favorite candy.

Once the reception was winding down, we sat and watched as Misty threw the bouquet and the girl cousins sang their "Nobody" song. Singing that song, with choreography, had been a tradition since they were young. Mom had such fun watching them perform that.

I was so happy to be able to sit and visit with Mom during that time. Mom told me how beautiful everything had been. I told her "I'm just so glad you are here." She nodded her head and said, "Me, too." As it was time for Gary and Lynn and Mom to leave, I went out to the car and handed Mom the keys to our house (they were going to drop gifts off there) and told her I would see her in the morning.

Once we got home I wanted to call Mom and get her "play-by-play" of the whole day. Mom was a wonderful conversationalist and always made astute and interesting observations. But we starting bringing in gifts, and by the time we were done, I thought it was too late to call. I thought we could talk in the morning. I guess that is my only regret. I wish I had called.

The next morning we got the phone call from my brother, Gary. Mom had passed away in the night. They heard her get up sometime around 3:00 am and then heard her go back to bed. When they checked on her at about 7:00, they found her in her bed. Sometime in-between she had gone from a peaceful sleep to a joyous reunion with my Dad.

My brother said the last thing she said
before she went to bed that night was,
"Wasn't this the most perfect day."

For me, it was the most perfect day.
My daughter had gotten married
and my Mom was there to share that day with us.
And though it was so hard to lose her,
we knew that we had been the
recipients of great gifts.
The gift of a Mother's Love
and numerous manifestations of
of Miracles and Tender Mercies.

At Mom's funeral my brothers spoke of Mom's two heart attacks and how, while she had been "out," that Dad had probably been there saying "Come on, I've been without you long enough, you're coming with me." And that Mom said, "No I am not leaving now, I am going to be there for Misty's wedding. I'm not going to let anything spoil that day for them."

I think that is a very likely scenario, as anyone who knows my Mom knows she would have stood firm in defense of anything involving her children. I also don't think Dad would have put up too much of a fuss at that point, as he wouldn't have wanted to spoil the day either.

I would love to hear other's remembrances of Mom's last day upon this earth or of the miraculous events leading up to it. I would love to hear your observations or conversations you may have had.

In the meantime,
I'm still looking forward
to getting that "play-by-play"
from Mom at some later date.