I will preface by saying this isn’t the diary I was going to write but by the end you’ll understand why I simply didn’t have the bandwidth. Hopefully that one will see itself to completion next week.
Shortly before Thanksgiving last year, one of my closest friends (I’ll call her J) texted our little friend quintet, formerly all local but now just four of us nearby: “I have metastatic pancreatic cancer”. Well fuck. Since then, she dealt with chemo, radiation, and the sudden onset due to the disease of Type 1 diabetes.
J’s 60th birthday was this month, and the three of us “besties” plus some help from the church we all attend and her husband pulled off a huge birthday party for her on March 1st complete with 75 people from all aspects of her life in attendance. She was beautiful and happy and it was a good day, pain-wise. Three days later on March 4th, J was transported to a hospice house because her pain levels had gotten unmanageable at home. It rapidly became apparent she was not in fact going to be stabilized and return home as she’d hoped.
Because Life happens even when you’re facing the loss of a dear friend, I was supposed to go pick K2 up from his college for spring break that Friday. At 8:30am he asked if I could postpone until the next day so he could finish a paper. I was frustrated and almost said no but really, what did it matter, and he did get his paper done. I let my friends know I was home and as it turned out, J was having a relatively lucid day and we decided to visit all together. We told stories, held her hand, brought some cookies and spent four hours together.
It was the last day J was really herself. I visited several more times to give her husband a few minutes away, and to make sure she wasn’t alone. J passed away peacefully last Thursday. Had I gone to pick K2 up on Friday, we would not have had that last wonderful day as our foursome. The Universe knew what it was doing.
On Friday, we got word my Father-in-law was entering hospice. He has been in declining health for a while, with repeated bouts of pneumonia. This last bout was triggered by his first covid infection, and he decided enough was enough. Mr. Brillig and I visited on Saturday and he was in relatively good spirits! We talked, ate lunch, and facetimed the kids… K2 was spending the day with K1 and partner having a wonderful time. Much laughter and talking ensued.
Mr. Brillig was supposed to drive K2 back yesterday since I did the drive a week earlier. However, K2 asked if I would drive he and his friends back instead because “my friends like you!” What parent can turn that down. As we were finishing up packing the car and getting our snacks ready, Mr. Brillig got a text that his Dad had rapidly declined overnight. While I drove K2 back, he headed to NH to be with his Mom and sisters. Had he driven, they would have left earlier and he would have been unable to get to his parents’ house quickly. The Universe again knew what it was doing.
I went up today to help out and see Dad along with K1 and partner. While Mr. Brillig remains up for the foreseeable future, I’m back home because Simba is just Too Much Excitement to bring with us. Please hold Mr Brillig, his Mom and sisters, K1 and K2 and the other grandchildren in your thoughts. Much like Mr. Brillig did for me when my Dad died in 1990 and Mom in 2001, I’m Support Staff.
Sorry for what may sound like a depressing diary, but I really am focused on the fact that because plans changed and we all rolled with them, we were exactly where we needed to be at exactly the right times. May the Universe grant you the same.
Let’s hop over the fold and take a look at today’s Tops!!
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TOP COMMENTS
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It was a quiet day in the Top Comments inboxes.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday (Sunday), March 16th 2025, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
