Sept. 9: I’ve been meaning to write this post for several days, but it seems like each time I get home and sit down, I immediately fall asleep…a condition that is not compatible with writing a web post.
But now the funeral is a couple days past, and although Andrew isn’t technically napping, he is resting in his room, and I have a few moments to write out how amazed I have been at the outpouring of love and support I have received over the last couple weeks.
Sometimes I felt so caught up in the river of flowers and food and emails and cards and caring gestures that I really had a hard time remembering that it is all because I’m losing my mother.
Here’s a sampling of some of the wonderful things people have done…
- A couple of my co-workers came over to help clean my house and mow my (very-long, quite large) lawn.
- My neighbor Nancy brought me two meals and some delicious, fresh-picked apples.
- A group of good friends who have babies Andrew’s age brought over a feast. There were an amazing number of dishes including cute labels. They also gave us a big bag full of tulip and daffodill bulbs. During the feast (pictures are in the gallery), Anne and Heather took care of nearly all the set-up and clean-up making it a totally worry-free event.
- Heather moved from Ann Arbor to Washington DC on Sept. 1-2. On Sept. 3, she flew out to spend the week here helping us. Despite the fact that her life was in humongous transition and that Sept. 2 was the one-year anniversary of her son Allan’s stillbirth, Heather has been a tremendous support for me this last week. She scanned hundreds of pictures of Mom so I could share them electronically, and she put together the great picture posters we had at the visitations.
- Friends from far and near have sent me flowers and plants. My house is just filled with the beauty of sunflowers, orchids, and wildflowers.
- Some of the food that people brought to Mom and Dad’s house ended up feeding us. Christy’s pound cake and Sarah Kidd’s lasagna were delicious.
- Anne came over with plants for my garden. She planted them and dug up a new garden bed for me in the back yard. I’ve been meaning to do that all summer! Anne came back a few days later to mulch and weed.
- My friend Kacy flew to Madison from Washington DC for Mom’s funeral on Friday. She’s a lawyer and has an unbelievably busy schedule. It meant a lot to me that she came out.
- Bryan’s parents flew up from Texas to support us and help take care of Andrew during the events on Thursday and Friday. They are in the process of a really busy time, and it means a lot that they wanted make a point of coming here to hug and support us.
- Heather’s mom just brought us a crock pot full of food, so now we’re set for next week too!
I’m sure there’s more…I keep remembering additional things! While there’s not really anything that can make losing Mom feel OK, it’s sure been nice to feel so supported and loved.
Thank you!