In Memoriam: Jean

My Aunt's mother passed away yesterday. It was only in recent years that she lived in Georgia, so I didn't know her very well. The last time I could say that my life intersected with hers was last fall. I drove to north Georgia to see the fall colors, and Jean had just fallen in the home her daughter set up for her. So when I went up there for the weekend, I stayed in Jean's home. The next morning, I woke up to find 3 pumpkins sitting on the porch swing, waiting for me like a little pumpkin family. I still have some of the pumpkin meat in my freezer, using Jean's kitchen to butcher them. Later that day, my aunt and uncle arrived, carrying some of Jean's belongings from the nursing home where Jean was placed until she fell getting out of bed. They were bringing her belongings home because she'd been transferred to a hospital bed.
In that time, there hadn't been much improvement. It was clear in the subject line of the email "Praise" that the family was relieved that her suffering had ended. Poorly healed broken bones because she wouldn't do therapy, infections, strokes. Her last days had been confused and painful.
Normally I would write about what I know about a person or what I know of their life. I can't do that in this case. But I can express my own thanks that her suffering has ended, and those who loved her no longer have to watch her suffering, unable to help her.
Endings make room for new beginnings. If you choose, you make them with people you've known and loved all along. So I hope my aunt and uncle and their families, with a sense of refreshment, rediscover each other now that their time with Jean has ended. They took good care of her while they could. I hope they now spend some time taking care of each other just as faithfully.
Rest well, Jean. Rest well, my family.

-Laura