A long and somewhat stressful day

Though I haven't seen her in nearly seven years, I finally spent some time with my ex-mother-in-law today.

Unfortunately, it was in an Intensive Care room.

Frankly, I was more than a little hesitant to go see her. I just wasn't sure how she'd handle seeing me. After all, I wounded her little boy pretty badly and you know how moms are about stuff like that. Hurt my kid, hurt me. And to be quite honest, I wasn't sure how I'd handle it. We'd always been pretty close and even though I'm no longer a part of that family, I've continued to think of her as my mother-in-law. I've always loved her. And she's trying her damnedest to die, but can't quite get the job done.

So I think you can understand just how stressful it was for me. Loving someone, hurting them then trying to "make peace"...on a deathbed.

Even though she's nearly 87 years old, pretty much bedridden and in precarious health at this moment, I wouldn't have been suprised had she jumped out of the bed and kicked my ass out, post haste. Lovely woman that she's always been though, she assured me that no ass kicking would happen today. And yes...I told her of my hesitation.

But she was glad to see me.

In fact, she even said, "I choose to remember the good times."

She's much frailer, thinner, a little mixed up at times, but she's essentially the same woman I knew for nearly 30 years. Her dry sense of humor, though a little harder to pinpoint, is still there.

Bless her heart. I know she's ready to go...I even told her that I knew she was ready and she agreed without hesitation. I just hope it's easy, painless and peaceful. It's what she deserves.

She was glad to see me. And I was glad to see her.

And I'm so glad I did go.