“If you are no longer helpful.
If you don’t do anything well.
If all you do is just sit with a cookie, then it’s time.
And, that’s when you die.”– Mom
Me: Mom, what is dying anyway?
Mom: What is dying?
I don’t know.
I don’t know anybody who knows.
You just die.
That’s all there is to it.
The first thing you do after you die is to go find your mother.
It doesn’t matter if she is big or little.
You just go find her.
And, if you look long enough, you will.
And, that’s it.
Dying?
You don’t need to know what it is.
You just do it.
Note: Mom’s mom, Neville Watkins (1882-1927), died from complications with pneumonia at 45 when my mom, the youngest of four, was only six. My grandmother’s last words to my mom were, “You take care of yourself. I love you, sugar.” And she waved goodbye.