I got a call at work fifteen years ago to tell me to get back down to the Midlands as my Dad was in a bad way. We were extremely privileged to be with him for what turned out to be 24 hours from my arrival at the hospital to a silent monitor. That bedside vigil with my Dad who was fully conscious but beyond treatment was the most moving yet important phase of my life. We had the opportunity to tell him that we loved him, and my mother’s devotion was a revelation.
This week I have had a similar conversation with Mum, just after one of her community nurses asked her if she was happy to spend her last days at home, rather than at hospital. At 89 she accepts with amazing calmness the fact that she is unlikely to see much more than a few weeks, but the privilege, again, for me is that I will be able to spend time with her, reassuring her that between me and my sister we will be looking after my brother (incapable of independent living) but more to the point listening to the first hand history she is so keen to tell us.
We must accept death as a natural part of the order of things. To accept it with serenity and yet do our own grieving on our own terms is the balance few of us are privileged to experience. I don’t share my mother’s profound faith, but I can only admire the fact that she is able to come to terms with what she believes to be a journey. In those terms I suppose I have a platform ticket, and will be able to watch the train pull away after a proper hug and a kiss goodbye. You get that chance too with your grandad. Make the most of it.