Remembrance- #AtoZChallenge

Today, there is so much to remember.

Today is the 20th anniversary of Columbine.  No, not the flower.   To Americans it means something else.  As a former teacher at Columbine explains, "it's a brand...a verb, a metaphor".  Our shooting in Binghamton, New York (in an adult classroom) on April 3, 2009 (our 10th anniversary just passed), in fact, is tied with Columbine in number of deaths - a grim statistic.  The pain the people of Littleton, Colorado are feeling today is unimaginable.

The week of April 15-20 is a grim one in United States history.  The assassination of Abraham Lincoln.   The bombing in Oklahoma city (April 19, 1995).  The sinking of the Titanic.

Remembrance. Which leads me to this.

We all like to remember the happy parts of our lives.  Call it nostalgia.

I can remember good times visiting Charleston, South Carolina, and walking on the Ravenel Bridge.

Life has given me many R's to write about.

Such as a beautiful Redbud blooming in West Virginia in April of 2017.

But not today.

We are entering a portion of life, my spouse and I, too often devalued in our Western society.  That should not be. In some societies, the elderly are honored as keepers of wisdom.

Several months ago, I blogged about "human wormholes" and my spouse's last living aunt, who was alive when the Titanic sank and survived a worldwide flu epidemic.  She witnessed all the events above, and many, many more.

Today, I have something sad to report.  My spouse's 107 year old aunt has been placed in hospice care.  She has months, possibly only weeks, left to live.

My spouse and I traveled down to see her last month. She had lived at home until last December, when her younger son, who was caring for her, died unexpectedly.  She was then cared for by a niece who lives in her neighborhood, with extensive help from aides.  But it could not be sustained.

I won't be more specific except to say it was heart rending.  Dementia has taken her to a place of pain and suffering.

The ending of life can be very, very hard and I am not sure we will be able to see her again to say a formal "goodbye". 

Sunset, May 2017

So this post may have to do.  Today, while she is still alive, I remember her.  I remember first meeting her, almost 50 years ago, and admiring her fine crochet and her beadwork.  She made the most beautiful doilies and beaded flowers.

She told me stories of when she was young and the miles she would walk to and from her job.

She told me about how she contributed to the war effort during World War II.  She told me of watching her neighborhood change from one mostly rural to an urban one.

This woman who walked from one city to another can not sit unassisted anymore.  She can not feed herself.

We are left with our memories, even as she loses her.  What can I say but farewell, dear in law.

Have you had to say goodbye to someone you've loved for years?

"R" day on #AtoZChallenge.  My theme:  Finding America through Photos.