At Peace

Mom left this world this afternoon around 4 p.m. Dad, Jim and the hospice nurse were with her. She had been unconscious since yesterday, and is now, thankfully, at peace.

As difficult as the last week was, we are all so thankful for the time we had with her to remind each other of our love and to let her know that we will be OK, especially with her watching over us.

Thank you to all of you for your outpouring of love and support for mom and our family.

At Mom's request, a private memorial service will be held in Yosemite, our "church", in the spring. In the meantime, Dad plans to get away for awhile and will spend the holidays with my family here in San Diego.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Mom's name to The Yosemite Fund, http://www.yosemitefund.org/. Our hope is to accumulate enough donations to ensure Mom has a permanent place on the Honor Wall in the Visitor's Center.

I thought it fitting to end this final entry with the poem that mom asked be read at her memorial. It gives me great comfort to know that, when my time comes, Mom will be on the other side saying "Look, here she comes!"

Gone From My Sight

by Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side, spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speckof white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast, hull and spar as she was when she left my side. And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

May peace be with all of you.