9.23.11

AYNSLEY:
Mom passed away this afternoon around 1:30pm. Dad was on the phone with me at the time; Gary and I were at the airport, waiting to get on a flight that was delayed by an hour. Ross was with her in her room at the Kline. Gary and I were supposed to be in the air, but due to weather in New York, we were able to just turn around and head right back.

So many family and friends came to us this afternoon; the courtyard was full of our support network. The nursing staff all came in to the room as we were leaving, wanting to show their support, giving everyone hugs and crying more than us.

My overwhelming emotion today is relief. I am so glad that our flight was delayed, that Gary and I were together, that this was at the end (though now middle) of a wonderful, long visit where I had lots of quality time with my mom. I'm relieved that Mom didn't suffer for days or weeks, that her decline the last few days was so rapid that she didn't really have time to be horrendously uncomfortable. Throughout the past 9 months, still the most uncomfortable I've seen her was those first few days in December at the hospital. This morning she was lucid, in and out of sleep, but still completely aware of her surroundings and who was with her.

Mom didn't want to have to say goodbye to anyone. So we didn't. We left everything at "I love you."

Today is the autumnal equinox, the first day of fall. Traditionally, this is a day for giving thanks, finding balance and preparing to turn more inwards. It's a time when we focus on our physical bodies, nourishing them with harvest abundance, and practicing feeling rooted to the earth. It makes sense that on today of all days, Mom realized her physical self was no longer serving her needs. That her spirit was too fierce for the broken body and needed to be released.

We are also a few days short of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. There is a prayer that says that God chooses each person who will die in the year to come, on Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. Another story I've told myself is that Mom was on the list to pass this year, but God gave us the entire year to spend with her.

We are still working on memorial arrangements-I will post them here on Sunday when we finalize the details. In the meantime, we have fielded many questions about making donations in Mom's honor. We are so honored to even be asked this question and of course whatever charity you'd like to support in Mom's memory is such a gift. However, if you're looking for guidance, we can suggest a few that are very close to Mom's heart:

Solomike Early Childhood Center
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
Temple B'nai Torah, Solomike ECC
15727 NE 4th Street
Bellevue WA 98008

Metropolitan Seattle Sickle Cell Task Force
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
Metropolitan Seattle Sickle Cell Task Force
P.O. Box 20194
Seattle, WA 98102

Mom's Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Group:
This is a group that meets once a month with a rotating host. The host chooses a charity that they'd like to support and presents their information to the entire group, educating them on what the charity does, how their money will help them and why they chose them. The group then makes an anonymous donation to that charity.
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
RAK c/o Eileen Putter
14011 SE 49th PL
Bellevue WA 98006