|
It was a tough week. Emotions ran high and there was plenty to do. I was very glad I got the time from work. Mom was glad I was there. I got the call at 11:45am Wednesday from Mom that Jumpy had passed. It was hard to hear her with all the background noise and she was crying as well. The call lasted 35 seconds, but I got the message. I was about to leave for work but called there and let them know. As arranged, I immediately got five days of bereavement leave. Next I called Cheryl and asked her to arrange a flight to Vegas. By 2pm I called my Mom at home and let her know I would be there that night and by 11:45pm I was on her doorstep. The next few days went fast and don't you know, when it rains, it pours. Before Mom had gone to visit Jumpy Wednesday, she discovered a leak in her bathroom, under the sink. She called a plumber friend and set an appointment for Thursday evening. Mom and I had to go to the mortuary so she could sign some papers. We also stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Since we didn't want to go out any more that day, we ordered pizza and waited for the plumber. Raymond, the plumber arrived about 8:30pm and was there about 2 hours. He fixed the leak and installed a new faucet. He sure was a friendly, talkative, nice guy. Friday, I picked up some boxes from the packaging store and Saturday and Sunday I gathered together Jumpy's things and organized them in the garage. I knew his kids would be coming and would want to go through them, so I tried to sort them a bit. I also tried to prepare for left over items to be taken to the Goodwill. Jumpy had his things scattered throughout the condo from his dresser and night stand to all but two cabinets in the garage. I emptied everything and by the time I was finished Sunday, there were plenty of boxes and bags in the garage and many empty cabinets and drawers. One cabinet in the garage that I found interesting was where Jumpy put all the casino gifts. Two of everything from clocks to organizers to gym bags. All went into a big box for his kids to go through. It was good that I was able to go through these things and not have Mom do it with all the memories they bring. Jumpy had one son living in Las Vegas, Ronnie, and a daughter who was flying in, Sherry. Ronnie came and started to go though the boxes on Sunday evening. Sherry and Ronnie both were able to meet and arranged for the pickup of most of Jumpy's possessions on Monday. I had to leave Tuesday afternoon and by then there were only a few boxes of clothes destined for the Goodwill. Cupboards, closets, and dressers were cleaned out and Mom was feeling a bit steadier. I was glad to be able to help her get through those first rough days and she seemed to get stronger each day. Cheryl and I will be back in Las Vegas this fall for our annual visit. It's always good to see Mom and know that she's well taken care of by her church family. |