I'm currently in the Huntsville, Alabama area visiting my brothers and my mother. My mother is in hospice care with congestive heart failure and we do not know exactly how much time she has left. Mercia is in Brazil visiting her family.
Life throws some unintentionally cruel, but nonetheless brutal curves. As my brother picked me up on Saturday morning, he advised me that Mercia had called earlier. Her mother had died earlier that day.
Nelize Teresina Barbosa Esteves would have been 79 a week from Friday. She was a shy, but loving mother who cared deeply about her five sons and two daughters as well as her 8 grandchildren. I have been blessed with a mother-in-law who shattered the ugly stereotypes about mothers-in-law. She was happy that her daughter had married and she was always calm and patient with me, with a rarely seen sense of humor that manifested itself subtly and warmly.
Mercia was very close to her and is taking this hard; time will ease the pain, but I have little doubt that the sense of loss she feels now will never be gone. Rest in peace, Dona Sogra: eu te amo, para sempre.
Randy, I am so sorry to hear this about your mother's illness and your mother in law's passing. My condolences to both Mercia and you. I wish there was some less hackneyed way of expressing this, but if there is, I dont know what it could be, only have strength for the blow that has landed and the blow that is coming. God bless you both, God bless them both.
Posted by: Akaky | January 27, 2009 at 03:57 PM
Akaky,
Just the expression of support alone will help us get through. Thank you so much.
Posted by: Randy Paul | January 27, 2009 at 04:53 PM