We gathered my mothers belongings though few and proceeded to leave the hospital in tears. I reached my car and the first person I called was my friend Mary, I wanted to ask her to sing the "Ave Maria" at the funeral mass I was going to be in charge of the mass the readings who would be doing them and the music selection. She has a voice like an angel and my mom loved listening to her sing every chance she had so I wanted to honor my mother in this special way the "Ave Maria" was her favorite hymn. I finished my conversation with a heavy heart knowing that the next few days were going to be the hardest days of my life.
When I arrived home, my family was in the kitchen everyone had cell phones out and were calling various family and close family friends of my mothers passing I grabbed the phone book and started to call people. I was to call my mothers life long friend from New York and let her know my mother had passed she was crushed I heard she gasped at the news. After she let it sink in she said for me to call if we needed anything and that she would be there even just to talk she was like a second mother to me when we would visit I remembered having fun at her house with her girls and my sisters and we would play for hours on end we did not want to leave. My mom loved her and she loved my mom. Then I had to call another friend of my mothers who also lived in New York, she too was as upset these two incredible women were very close with my mom. As I hung up the phone with the second phone call my dad said to my sisters and myself that we had to pick out something for her to wear, but first we needed to go to the funeral home and make the arrangements. As we all piled in my dad's car to go to the funeral home we were all very quiet I remember thinking I was in a dream and this was not happening and I would wake up and this would have been a bad dream but it wasn't it was happening and I remember feeling very overwhelmed at that moment. We walked into the funeral home still quiet and solemn there were no rooms occupied but that was about to change. We walked into the office where we sat there to go over the details, did not realize how much was involved in the process we even had to word the obituary which was placed in the newspapers. We also had to pick out the prayer card, plan a rosary or scripture service then we had to choose her casket and where we were to have her buried. We picked a casket that resembled the type of person she was, it was a brass tone with the Last Supper placed all around with a white pillow and satin lining it was a far as caskets go beautiful. She would had been pleased then we all picked out the burial plot at a cemetery which is located close by my sisters home and not far at all from the rest of us and not to mention around the corner from where I work. We made the arrangements and left there not as quiet but sharing in the experience of grief.
When we arrived home we had to pick what she would be buried in. That was one of the hardest things we had to do. My mom had some very nice things and it was going to be a difficult task so after visiting her closet and going through everything we made a decision and picked one. It was a skirt and blouse with a beautiful red jacket she would wear pearl earrings with a nice neck chain my dad had her wedding band at home and was not buried with her.
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