As I prepared for my retirement and made plans with the HR department, it was decided that my official date of retirement would be January 2, 2023. I had so many plans for how I wanted to spend my time when I no longer had to be going to work every day. I wanted to spend more time with my grandchildren, exercise, pursue some hobbies, read and cook more, but one of the main plans I had was to spend more time visiting my sweet mother in the nursing home.
The morning of January 2, I started my retirement by going very early to the nursing home to be there when my mother had her breakfast. She’d suffered a stroke a month before that had paralyzed her left side and she needed to be fed. However, that morning I was unable to get my mother to wake up when her breakfast was delivered to her room. I did not realize at that time, but it was the beginning of the process of “actively dying.” My sisters and I spent the next couple of days beside her bed. Then on January 4 my precious mother’s life on this earth ended. It was heartbreaking to watch the process.
I am thankful that I no longer had the pressure of needing to be at work and having to choose between my job and being with my mother in her last hours. This was not the way I had planned to start my retirement, but as we all know, some things in life are completely out of our control and we just have to do our best to accept the changes and continue to live.
Grief was definitely a part of the beginning of
my retirement, but it was not a grief of hopelessness. I am grateful for the inner peace I have and
strong family support. It has made
losing the most wonderful mother a little bit easier.
Oh I’m sorry to hear that your mum died so soon after suffering her stroke. I can understand your relief but it certainly wasn’t the best way to begin this new chapter in your life. Once the official side has been dealt with you’ll then be able to start looking at life in a different way.
ReplyDeleteThank you! She had suffered from dementia for a while and she was 90 years old. I am thankful she is no longer suffering. Things have settled down now and I am definitely enjoying being retired.
DeleteAlthough I'm sure it was hard for you to go through, what a blessing it was to be there and completely present for your mother's last days.
ReplyDeleteYes, being with her was a true blessing that I will always be thankful for. Thank you for your kind words.
DeleteI'm sorry for the sudden and unexpected loss of your mother. I can only imagine how hard it was for you and your sisters. It's good that you were able to be with her in the last of her days.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Yes it was very hard, but not completely sudden. We knew she had decline much during the previous month, and year, but I truly did not expect it to happen right as I was retiring. I am thankful she's no longer suffering.
DeleteI'm so sorry about the loss of your mom. I lost mine 20 years ago and I still miss her as much today as ever. Congratulations on your retirement!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words!
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