The Terrible Catsafterme

Grandma Murphy passed away one year ago today. Our entire family had a difficult time letting go of her, but in the end we all decided that it wouldn’t be her desire to remain on life support – with no chance of waking up. The story below is one that I wrote after the time that she died – but before her viewing and funeral. I first presented it to my Mom at Grandma’s viewing and she later passed it on to her siblings and to Grandpa. It made me feel better to write it, helping me cope with the loss. I will probably never know during my time on Earth if it was wishful thinking, creative writing, or divine intervention that inspired me to write it. Much of what is included in the story is based on factual events – such as Diana and I holding her hand as she passed away, Bev being out of town during her passing while Karen was giving birth to Abby, and the cause of her hospital stay, for instance – only these events are seen from Grandma’s persepctive instead of ours.

Loretta’s Adventure

The pain was minor unless she moved it, but what was worse was not being able to move around. The ball joint in her hip was cracked due to a fall. She was more frustrated with herself than anything. She had pleaded with her husband Harold not to take her to the hospital if for no other reason than…she did not like hospitals.

Loretta had taken a spill off of her kitchen chair and wasn’t even really sure how it had happened. One minute she was at home, the next minute she was laid up here in a hospital bed. It was routine surgery having this piece of her hip joint replaced. She had been through much worse in the past and always pulled through okay. Of course her family was a little bit worried. After all, at the age of 81 – going on 82 – there was always a risk with surgery. Some of her family came to visit with her, some didn’t. But it would be no big deal, she would see them all after the surgery was over and would be ready for the next family get-together.

The past year had been a blessing if there ever was one. Back in April, she had come close to death due to extremely low blood pressure resulting from heart surgery. But again, she pulled through. In fact, her health gradually began improving until she was actually feeling quite chipper. She had a wonderful time vacationing in Myrtle Beach, attending family functions, enjoying the holidays, and just generally being able to get around even better than she had in the past. The back surgeries and heart problems…now this!

Laying in the hospital bed, Loretta saw the nurse enter the room and knew what was going to happen next. The drill had become familiar after so many surgeries and hospital stays. She would receive a shot and watch intently as the liquid coursed through the tube and into her arm. Some doctors had her count backward starting at ten. She had never even reached seven before it was lights out. Oh well, just a formality. She would be out of surgery in few hours and there her husband and maybe some children would be to greet her.

Darkness. Suddenly Loretta’s eyes popped open. She was alone in a rocking chair in an empty room. There was nothing in the room. She knew that  – even though she was completely in the dark. Somehow she was seeing in the dark. Across the empty room was a door. From behind she heard a faint whisper – “Loretta.” Although it startled her, she did not jump nor was she scared. She turned slightly to the right to see the face behind her. It was a beautiful face with long flowing blonde hair. The beauty in the face was unlike any she had ever seen. Even more beautiful than any of her children or her grandchildren, whom Loretta had always thought were the most beautiful on Earth.

Then she heard another whisper from her other side. Again, a faint “Loretta.” She turned her head to the left and saw a second face, equally as beautiful. Still she was not scared. She asked “Who are you?”

“We are here to tend to you, as you have always tended to everyone else” they replied in unison.

Loretta smiled. This was a strange dream, unlike any she had ever had in her life. “Well, where am I?” she asked.

“You are at the outposts of heaven,” the angel on the right replied. “Your surgery was completed but there were complications. Your life on Earth has nearly completed. You have served your Lord and now its time to return home.”

Pointing to the door across the room, the angel on the left spoke. “That door leads to a waiting area where we will remain until your soul has left your body.”

Loretta looked from one to the other and laughed. Was someone playing a trick on her? She asked “Am I dead?”

An angel answered, “Loretta, you are more alive now then you have ever been in your life. Soon you will be with the Lord but this will not be accomplished until your body gives up your soul. You will remain with us for five days and then we will head home.”

“Five days?” Loretta asked. “Why so long?”

“Your family will want to give you every opportunity to recover. They love you very much and will have a difficult time letting you go, knowing that they will have to live without you. They will want to give all of your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren an opportunity to see you before you leave them.”

Without being directed, Loretta arose from her rocking chair and walked arm-in-arm with the angels toward the door. It was difficult for her to walk on her hip. But she only knew this from her first step, because after that the angels were carrying her. The door opened automatically and she stepped into the next room.

She was outdoors. For miles in every direction she could see nothing but deep green landscapes, cloudless blue skies, and tall, majestic trees. When she looked behind her, there was no longer a door. Running down the middle of the landscape was a flowing brook and next to it was a blanket and pillows. As she was looking at all of these wonderful things, she realized that she was gliding over the land and being transported by the angels. When they got to the blanket, they let her go and she landed with a dull, painless thud.

This was where she was to wait.

Over the next few days, the angels tended to her every need. They brushed her hair, fed her chocolates, and told her that they loved her and she would soon receive the reward she had earned. Now and then, members of her family would stop by. They would bend down and give her a kiss and tell her that they missed her and loved her. Their faces were always bright and they were always smiling.

“They seem happy.” Loretta would confide to the angels.

“They are in pain. They miss you and they know that they are going to lose you,” replied the angels. “But since you are here, you cannot see their pain. It is invisible to you. You can only see their love.”

Days passed. Loretta would sit by the brook and remember her happy times with her family. Each time a family member would drop by, she wanted so much to tell them how much she loved them and to talk over the good times, but each time the visitor would put a finger up to her lips and smile and tell her again that they loved her. When she was alone with the angels, she would share many of her fond memories of her tightly-knit family. A tear would roll down her cheek and she would say “I’m really going to miss them.”

Each time the angels would look at one another and smile and say, “We promise, you are going to be fine.”

Loretta would drift off to sleep and each time she awoke, an angel would be cradling her head and singing sweet music in her ear.

One of the days she awoke and the angels were standing far away. Loretta looked a bit confused as if to ask why they were standing so far away.

The angels understood. They pointed to the sky. Hovering above them was a tremendous light, much brighter than the sun. She could stare right at it, though, and it did not hurt her eyes.

 “Today’s the day, Loretta. It’s almost time to go home.” The angels stepped apart from one another and the door that she had come through had reappeared.

Many of her family members came through the door. Children, grandchildren, and her oldest great-grandchild all paraded through. All dressed in white. All smiling. She heard something behind her and she turned. Coming from the other direction were all of her other family members, all staring up into the sky and speaking, saying how much they love her. Even her newest great-grandchild was there. She was only seven days old.

The family members that had come through the door all circled around her and clasped hands. Now she could see their tears, but only tears of joy. They prayed and blessed her for her journey. Most of them came and kissed her on the head once again and told her how much they loved her and how wonderful of a mother she had been. Her husband, who had been with her the most, stood closest to her.

The angels came inside the family circle and embraced her. They turned her toward the light. She could no longer see her family members, only hear them avowing their love for her. The angels whispered to her, “Start walking Loretta. Your oldest child and your oldest grandson will hold your hands and walk with you as long as they can.”

She slowly began walking toward the light. Every step she took became easier. She hadn’t felt this good in years. She felt like a lady in her forties, then her thirties, then her twenties. She began to move quickly. Was she actually running? Her hands broke free from her daughter and grandson. She knew that they had stopped moving alongside her and were left standing alone but she couldn’t stop running. She never looked back.

Suddenly, the light engulfed her. Tranquility flowed through her entire body. There was a falling sensation, a flying sensation, and a soaring sensation all at once. All around her were the sights and sounds of every event in her life. She was experiencing every happy moment all at once. She suddenly realized that now she was wearing short pants. She was  seven years old. She saw her Mom and Dad and brothers and sister all running toward her, scooping her up and hugging her, cheering no less, saying “welcome home!”

Others began to appear all around her, all faces she recognized from the course of her life since the time she was a little girl. Then she saw friends that had passed away not long ago. Now she was older again. Then a teenager. Then a child again. Everyone she had ever known and loved was there.

Even those she had just seen minutes before. Over there were her husband and children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And these great-grandchildren had great-grandchildren of their own. She had transcended time and everyone was together. This was the body of Christ.

Everyone was cheering and smiling and laughing and Loretta looked in the sky and it was filled with the radiance of God’s love. And Loretta smiled wider than she ever had because she had come home. It was now time to begin her life.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 6:33 am and is filed under Ancestry, Family Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.