Last night Christian and I went to visit an older lady in our ward,
Julie, who is in hospice care.
Christian gave Julie a beautiful blessing, and we read the scriptures with her.
Sometimes I'd look at her face with her eyes closed and moaning and wonder
where she was and what she was doing because, clearly, she was in-between
this life and the world to come.
It felt familiar.
Julie had been sick for a long time,
and I had been a part of her life near the end.
I'd go to her cluttered little apartment, bathe her,
make sure she took her meds,
make her laugh, and put her eye drops in.
I'd feed her oyster crackers and listen to her stories.
On this Sunday morning,
I skipped church so I could sit with Julie,
No one wants her to die alone.
I played George Winston
on my little phone speaker in her quiet hospital room while she lay unconscious.
Where are you?
It would be any minute now. Sometimes she'd stop breathing,
or take large deep breaths for long periods.
But she didn't pass on my watch.
Later the Nies drove Christian and me to the airport then we flew to
Nashville for our Lover's Holiday weekend and Christian had some
exciting BovIQ stuff.
While in Nashville, he will meet up with all the other guys who were
selected to be a part of this exciting AG accelerator program.
It's wonderfully exciting, and I am so happy we are here!
Post Script:
Julie's funeral was held on the following Saturday.
Pam Kersley, Martha Isgett, and I dressed Julie
the day before the service.
Being the Relief Society president, I get to do lots of things.
I'd never dressed a dead body before, and it was so sacred.
And I kept thinking about Topher.
Julie's funeral was lovely, and even had a full-service military honors
since she was a Vietnam veteran.
