Remembering Mammy

Remembering Mammy

On February 4, 2007 at about 4 AM my dear Mother died in my arms from kidney failure right before my fortieth birthday which was on February 19, 2007. She was the loving mother of seven children, fourteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Now I know how it feels to lose a Mother, no words can describe it. She meant the world to me; I think about her every day and pray God to give me the strength to bear this pain. Although it is said with time pain goes away, I still five years later feel the same way I did on February 04, 2007. The last great time I had with her was on Thanksgiving of 2006 because the week after, her little body started to give up in other words she was dying and. Is there some type of mental preparation to do when you know someone you love is about to die? Whenever I think of her I can't stop crying. She was a great role model, my confident, and my best friend. We had a great relationship. I know that she will always be in my heart and part of my life forever.

Mammy was full of life prior to her sudden illness that started in the summer of 1992.She was actively working, handled the house running smoothly, and gave a lot of attention to our education. She also made sure to keep all of us as close as possible to each other, and to know family comes first. She listened to all of our problems and never judged us but would certainly use her wise words to make her point. Now that our pillar was gone my siblings and I are much closer than we were before. The good time I had with her will never be forgotten. As I said earlier Thanksgiving 2006 the last one with her and was the best I ever had.

On the morning of Thanksgiving November 2006 I woke up and did the usual preparations as I did in every past year. In our family it has always been very difficult to have the seven of us and my parents at the same place and time, mostly because we all lived in different states or countries. The few times we were all together we made sure we took a family picture. On Thanksgiving Day of 2006 we really had no hope for this reunion to include all of us, not only because my younger brother Jean was deployed to Afghanistan and had no approval for a time off, my older sister just had a brain aneurism and had not fully recovered, my father who lived in New York had heart surgery that summer whom the Doctors advised not to travel for a while. Well where the impossible arise the possible occur, not only the week before Jean made it to Florida and surprised us so did my father. The joy we felt was unbelievable everyone was exited and looked forward to Thanksgiving Day. Mammy was so happy I remember, for the first time she worried about her outfit, her hair, and even missed a Doctor's appointment she had the day before. She was the first one to arrive with my brother.

The food was the best I ever had, the children were playing, and the laughs were getting louder than they ever did. Everyone was having a lot of fun, and then came time for that famous family picture. Because we had more grandchildren this year we had some difficulties to keep them in place, but eventually the job was done. My mom was thrilled to have us all there she gave a story about each of us. She danced to her favorite song; she even took a picture with my father despite the fact that they have been separated for more than twenty years, something that shocked all of us. This picture is exposed right in the entrance of my house and gives me a sense of joy every time I look at it. After she passed we wonder did she felt it that it was probably her last Thanksgiving Dinner, or God made it all possible that day to give us a last chance