Friday, May 15, 2009

Farewell to Mama and Talking Death with a 4 Year Old



At 10:30 last night, B's Mama went home to be with Jesus.

We've known for about fifteen months that the time was coming, but were somewhat surprised to find out yesterday that she had a maximum of three days left to live. I decided that it was important to fill Big A in on what was going on so I got down on the floor with him and we started talking. We talked about who Daddy's Grandma was, where she lived, and if he remembered why Daddy had gone to see her last year. He knew all of that so I continued on by telling him that she was really, really sick and that very soon she would be going to live with Jesus in Heaven. He just looked at me for a second and then the tears filled his eyes.

I pulled him into my arms and we cried together. He said to me, "I really hope I can see her again before she dies." With my heart aching I explained that Daddy had already been to see her, that we would not be able to get to her before she died, and that it would be really, really expensive to get plane tickets for all four of us. His response was to cry harder which made me cry harder and snuggle him tighter.

We stayed like that for a minute or two and then, in typical four year old style, the tears stopped as quickly as they had started and he said, "I REALLY wanted to fly on a 727." I love that boy! So sensitive, yet so.... BIG A!

Be at peace, Mama... We love you and we will see you when we get there!

Erma Webb ~ April 23, 1923 - May 14, 2009



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