Saying Goodbye

My Great Auntie Shirley has been very sick for a long time, and in the last week or so she was moved back to her home with hospice nurses.  They have been giving her medication and trying to keep her comfortable.  They've been wonderful.

Today, my mom and I called her to pay our respects.  She is in high spirits and very positive, but also a little scared.  Her voice is coarse and she has been telling me about all the wonderful people who have been calling her.

My mom was the one who asked her about her favorite memory, and she was quick to talk about all the wonderful people she has danced with, from Clint Eastwood to Sailors that she met in clubs during WWII, she has danced with many a person.  When asked about her favorite style of dance she said "Anything Latin".

All in all it was a wonderful conversation, despite the sad truth that this would probably be the last time we would ever speak to her.  I thanked her for the Christmas cards that I had that she had made for family members every year before she lost her sight and for the copies of family papers that she has given me over the last few years.  She thanked me for being a breath of fresh air while I was in Washington as a child, because I was the first child in the family for many years.

My Auntie Shirley is a wonderful woman and it was a good conversation.  I couldn't imagine saying goodbye to her in any other way.