I Prayed God Would Take Her

She had more vibrancy and get up and go than Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies My mother She was spry with a hilariously keen sense of humor She was younger than any of the rest of us Although at 87 she was the oldest one in the family Until she wasn’t. Cancer snatched her up and began killing her one lick at a time I had not seen her for two months and it was too late When I arrived in her room, she could not raise her head She was not able to sit up, she did not know I was there. I took her hand, and she wrestled it out of mine She was flailing and there was an ugly death rattle. I called my sister to ask where she was. I had been here forty-seven minutes with our mother Her legs were sticks, and she kept kicking off her covers She did not seem to be able to control anything Her roommate was silent, where my mother was rattling. A horrible, awful death-rattle That forty-seven minutes was the worst time of my life. I began praying that God would take her; My mother would have never wanted to “un-live” like this. She had vibrancy, pep, vigor, and this was nothing like her. She passed on that day, and I was grateful that it was over for her. It is a terrible thing to watch a loved one suffer like this. Especially if she is your mother.