At 8:00PM my mom, Avis Bond moved on to the Great Library in the Sky, as she called it. Alick, her masseur who loved her as much as anyone was giving her a massage, as he had done several times a week for over a decade. I had been napping on the bed next to her and went downstairs to the kitchen for a snack. As soon as the fridge opened, he was on the stairs urging us to come now. Within minutes, John, Barbara, Beth, & I were at her bedside just in time for her last breath. This was the first moment in weeks that one of her children was not in the room with her and I have no doubt she waited for us to be gone before departing. She never was one for big good-byes nor would she want to cause us distress. Lex could not be with us physically, but certainly was in spirit. She and the Bundschuh clan were represented the previous week by Kristine, who was with Mom when we needed her most and who, quite frankly, left at the right time. Im glad she missed the last two days. For weeks Mom was surmounted by family who assured her she was loved, though she already knew, and reminded her of the countless ways she enriched our lives as well as the lives of others. In the end, mid-massage, she was literally relaxed to the other side in the arms of a man who loved her. I cannot imagine a better way to go. It was a simple, elegant exit truly worthy of Avis. The responses were typical. John said something crass, Barbara cried, Beth prayed, and I made a heart felt inappropriate joke that broke the tension. We sat around the bed with a bottle of red wine for the others & cognac for myself until the gentleman arrived to take her away. He was late because traffic was bad, but I would not have wanted him a moment sooner. The time we spent around her at the end was good for everyone and Mom would have liked it. I hope she saw. For years, Christmas really began with toasting Dad on Christmas Eve, his birthday. From now on, it will begin with toasting Mom on the 23rd. She meant the world to me and will be missed. and when [s]he shall die, Take [her] and cut [her] out in little stars, And [she] shall make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 14:41:06 +0000
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