Tonight Was Weird

An old friend called me - I was just leaving work. We talked as I drove home. I got to my house. The conversation drifted to the day that it was.

Thanksgiving Eve - my friend asked if I was OK. I said that I was. My friend knew what Thanksgiving Eve will always be marked as for me. As I said that, I looked at the clock. It was 5:02 pm.

"It's exactly 6 years to the minute," - I told my friend, "since I last saw my mother alive."

Thanksgiving sometimes falls early - sometimes it falls late. This time, the date of Thanksgiving Eve coincided exactly with the date that my mother passed. I had stopped by to visit on my way home. I told my parents that I had to run an errand and then stop by my house. I said that I would be back in an hour.

45 minutes later - my dad was calling me to tell me that the paramedics had arrived and that my mom didn't look good.

I dropped everything and rushed the mile over to my parents house - all the emergency vehicles were there ...and my mother was being wheeled out. My dad was right. She looked so pale.

We didn't know for sure - while we waited at the hospital. I think that we both suspected...my dad and I. We didn't entertain the thought. After getting the news, we were allowed a final visit.

People get squeamish - at the thought of dead bodies. I know that did....and still do. Any discomfort goes away when it is your own mother. I stroked her hair. I kissed her forehead. I told her what a good mom she was.

....and now here I am - the date and the eve of Thanksgiving were aligned for the first time since my mom passed. It was the same time as the last time that I saw her.

I guess it was good that I was talking to my friend - I am not sure I would have looked at the clock. Of course, it didn't give me a private moment but I didn't really need one. Time is just a creation of man. The exact moment is really just a coincidence. The memory lives on. Thanksgiving Eve will always be a special time for me.

It was the last conversation - and the final kiss and a farewell parting of the hair.