Rob's Mom: Part 3: Day 2: "The Call"

Tyler kept us in good spirits

This week I've been writing about the events around my mother's severe stroke and passing.  This is the third part in the week's events. It's important to understand that no one should have regrets when someone passes. This is the blog about the day we learned my mom passed.

DAY 2 - "THE CALL" and the Next Steps

On Sunday, December 29, 2013 at 6:38 a.m. my older brother Stephen called. He got the call that mom passed at 6:31 a.m. EST that morning. About 16 hours after Tom and I saw her and told her to move on. We feel that she was waiting to hear from us before crossing over.

Dolly knew something was wrong

MAKING ARRANGEMENTS - Later in the day, on Dec. 29, my brothers contacted the Funeral Home to confirm her passing, and make the arrangements. Both of my brothers, their wives, Tom and I met at the funeral home and picked out prayer cards, and talked about the best days for the services. Since it was a holiday week, we opted for a wake on Wednesday, January 1^st from 3 to 7 pm and funeral Thursday, January 2, at 10 a.m.  My two brothers picked out the casket - I didn't want to do it. 

Dining Room at mom's house -where we stayed

    That evening, we conferred around my mother's kitchen table and Tom and my sister-in-law Dawn helped put the funeral mass together picking songs (Tom used to play piano at many church functions) and readings. Meanwhile, my other sister-in-law, Sue with Dawn's assistance, picked out the clothing my mom would wear in the casket.

Mom loved to bowl

Jill B & Mom shoe shopping- she had many shoes!

    CLEANING UP -
The next couple of days are a blur because we began the long process of cleaning up the house. My dad passed in 2008, and we all have our respective houses, that was the next step. Tom and I were joined by my sister-in-law Sue and her sister Donna to go through lots of clothing, and the 5 closets that held them. My mom loved clothes. We found lots of shoes, scarves and gloves. In fact, we thought we were cleaning out Imelda Marcos' shoe collection! :)

LOTS OF PLASTIC FLOWERS - During the attic clean out, I found more plastic flowers than you'll find for sale in Michael's craft store at one time. Mom loved her plastic flower arrangements (and she was good at them). Now I know that she just never threw them away when she got new ones!   It took an entire afternoon to clear one third of the attic and there's a lot more to do.

NEXT: New Year's Eve/Holiday/Mom's Wackiness