Thirty seven years ago, the nineteenth January
The Doctor said Mom would live two weeks
She was born on January 17, 1918 died Jan 19,1973
A fact I looked up today married January 16,1938
It was Cancer that took her and dad's beatings
She was beating the Cancer but not the bleeding
Going into remission it was blood thinning helping
Her blood was thinned and her nose would bleed
Nose was broken so badly they could not cauterize.
So the Doctor said thinning blood not wise
Mom accepted the words she was going to die
Her life had and cruel she lovingly faced relief
She begged me to be strong and not to cry
The important thing being Stepdad be baptized
We were not Sunday going church goers growing up
But we were always there on Easter Sunday
Catholic Churches, Baptist, Lutheran, Mormon
Mom had been raised as an orphan in all
What she had in her heart was love of Jesus
Time has passed but I remember well that night
For her last two weeks I slept in the Hospital room
I worked all day stayed in the hospital all night
My wife understood she took a shift during the day
Fought valiantly to live to her birthday the 17Th
On the nineteenth she said to me, "Jesus has come!"
I said,"No Mom", even today I feel the presence
She sent me to get the Nurse and she was Mom
I looked in the room and a halo lay over her head
Knew that her Jesus had come for her and did not cry
On the nineteenth of January every year not as strong,
As I write this in memories there are tears are in my eyes.
Sometime in the night and tomorrow she would have died
My sister Jeri died of an aneurysm, January 19, 2008.