Flu bugs, festivities and a dying mother....

The busy-ness of the fall is in full swing.  Homecoming for the university and Prep coincided for the second year in a row making the schedule manic, to say the least.  But I must say the highlight was not the thrilling last second win by the college football team but rather the exhilarting and electric atmosphere of the Prep Homecoming Variety Show.  One would expect that two hours of high school students being silly and making music would be something to endure but act after act saw a level of talent and sophistication that is simply not found in other schools.  From the beautiful piano solos to the amazing Chinese instruments, these kids amazed the audience with their poise, preparedness and panache.  Our tag line "Your World Awaits" makes a lot more sense to me after seeing this level of effort.  The performers were not just there to entertain - they were there to share their art and it was impressive. 
The flu bug is beginning to thin our ranks even though it's hard to say which strain it is.  The H1N1 gets all the attention but in most cases, it seems as if the seasonal bug is taking more victims.  We have plans in place including "percentages" that would force us to close the school but it hasn't come to that quite yet.  There must be some kind of lesson in this - the great and powerful human race reduced to sniveling feverish lumps of flesh by a virus.  Makes you wonder yet again about our fragility and the thin line which separates us from normal living and desperate lives. 

....which provides a nice segue to the last and most important reality of this busy week:  my mother is obviously dying and I'm fairly certain she won't be able to fend off any kind of flu bug this winter.  She was diagnosed with Altzheimer's last March when stroke like symptoms began to diminish her overall health.  She receives hospice care, spending most of her days in a hospital bed in her living room.  My father is her doting and attentive care giver.  When she speaks, she talks of rose gardens but today, as I sat next to her, she spoke of the garden of paradise...something I've not heard her mention until today.  She also claims the "Son of God is exploding" - an ominous sounding vision to say the least which I assume is nothing more than the product of her mental and physical deterioration.  I have asked her if she's ready to die, wants to die and she responds with an emphatic "NO!"  All of this is certainly ironic because just last November, she was part of the audience at one of my talks on end of life issues.  At that time, I had asked her if her "wishes" were in order and she, typical of us all, replied that it was not necessary at this time.  She was always insistent that there were to be no heroic, unnecessary means of sustaining her life but never signed a document to make those wishes legal or binding.  I'm happy to say that the treatment she receives is respectful of her humanity dignity but makes no pretense of curing or restoring her to health.  We keep her warm, fed, washed and loved until that time when her frail body can not sustain this earthly life anymore.  People ask me if this is difficult and of course it is but I always add that we all have to face this time sooner or later and in a way we are lucky:  there is no pain, no terrible disease, no suffering.  We have been able to say almost daily how much we love her and what a great mother she is to us.  Many among us are not so fortunate.