I spent the late evening on the net, and had just closed my computer down at midnight when the phone rang. It was the nurse on duty. "Your mom has just passed away," she said. "She passed away on the stroke of midnight. I heard her cry out and I went in there. Gradually her breathing slowed down and finally it stopped. I looked at the clock and it was exactly midnight." She was amazed at the precision of timing, and repeated it to me several times.
The nurse said they were going to ring the funeral director to come in the morning and they would get her body prepared.
I knew Kath needed some better clothes - she had been in a hospital nightie earlier that day - so I said, "I'll be there shortly with a change of clothes for her."
I found a lovely pink nightie with frills that I didn't know we had and a nice pair of panties, loaded my dogs into the vehicle and set off down my long drive through the trees.I rarely drive at night, purely because I have to drive alone, but I felt completely protected as I locked my gates and drove out onto the state highway to do what I had to do.
The night was quiet and so peaceful, just as the morning had been after my father's death over 20 years before. I don't think I saw another vehicle on the road, going or coming back, which was unusual, and I felt strongly the presence of power and protection all around me.
Kath looked the same as she had done earlier in the day, but now the struggle was over. I stroked her cheek, gave her all my love and blessings, and left her in the nurses' care, and - I hoped - God's.
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