Just last week, Mama and I were eating lunch together, and her health had detoriated to ???? degree and she was gasping for breath between bites. After swallowing, she looked up at me and with big sad eyes said, "Well Moog, I think it is very close to the end, now"
   I grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes, and with deep empathy I agreed, "Yes, mama, it is very close to the end."
And she said, "Of the meal, I mean." And she took a last bite of her food. "Yes, of course!" said I, It's close to the end of the meal."

         Mama kept her sense of humor and her courage, thru these last trying years. Her will to live was very, very strong.
Confounding the doctors who time and again predicted her demise within weeks, days and sometimes hours over the last seven years, mama was like the everready bunny...she just kept on going and going and going.
        And was it medical miracles that gave mom all those extra years? Maybe, but mostly after a while we tried to keep her away from hospitals. It was love that kept mom alive. For she had a circle of friends and family that cared. And at 75, almost 7 years ago, when doctors gave her only a few months to live and many wanted her in a nursing home, I made the decision. I moved in with Mama and with help of family and friends decided to take care of her in her own home, to help her live out her remaining years. We gave love and in return, she gave us life.