She wanted to take her dad out to breakfast. Her kids, both teenagers, had the day off from school and wanted to go along. But you know teenagers. They had slept late that morning, and so breakfast was changed to lunch. Her dad decided to go to the nursing home first, and then meet them for lunch. And so he was with his wife when she took her last breath.
She told me this story, in the back seat of the car as we drove to the funeral home that afternoon. She was so glad that her dad had been there for her mom, one last time.
Emmy is my little daredevil. She wants to do everything Lily does, including jumping off of stairs, climbing ladders at the park, and climbing up onto the kitchen chairs. She wasn’t doing any of those things when she fell on the kitchen floor. Her footy pajamas had lost their rubbery soles after too many washings, and she just slipped. She started crying, and as I picked her up, I saw a small, white speck on her tongue. I fished it out, and discovered that she had chipped her front tooth. So I made an appointment with the dentist that afternoon.
The dentist just happens to be in the same suburb as our church, and so after her appointment, we stopped by to help plan the funeral. I was able to help pick out the hymns, and I think seeing the girls helped my husband, his sister and his dad.
But I’m still sad when I see Emmy’s chipped tooth! The chipped part doesn’t reach the nerve bundle, so the dentist said it should be all right. And it’s a baby tooth, so it will fall out, eventually.
That Wednesday, I was scheduled to bring an egg casserole to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). I had to go to the florist to help with the flowers for the funeral, so I didn’t go. But I had already bought all the ingredients for my casserole.
Ed called his dad, and invited him over for breakfast on Friday, the morning of the funeral. A man shouldn’t have to go to his wife’s funeral alone, I said. I made egg casserole so that we all had a nice, hot breakfast that morning.
People ask us how we’re doing, and I think we’re doing OK. I know we will have some difficult days ahead of us, but that’s OK. That’s how it’s supposed to be.