PEACE AT LAST

Mary Susan Watkins
November 28, 1955 - April 18, 2009

She was pronounced dead at 8:13 pm by the EMSA tech. Truthfully, she began dying Friday evening when I dropped her off at her apartment.

She said she was weak. I said I know. We left her with her beloved Jackie and a 24 pack of Coke. I called on Saturday but she never answered.

I wish I had known that it would be our last good bye. I wish I had checked on her sooner.

Mary called me a couple of weeks ago and offered a heartfelt confession. Things I already suspected but wasn't certain of. What I didn't know was how much shame she felt. How she didn't want to face me, how she didn't feel worthy to go to church but knew that was were she needed to be.

We talked about how Jesus wanted her & loved her in spite of anything she did. I told her that I didn't care what she did I just cared about her.

That was the beginning of the end. Looking back, the two weeks that followed that confession were a gift for our family & Mary.

She was in church the next Sunday & the following Sunday which was Easter. The Saturday before Easter she spent the day at our house, mostly sleeping on the couch. She was having difficulty breathing & couldn't smoke much of her cigarettes. We took her to Ron's Hamburgers, a place we both love, and enjoyed a big ol' greasy burger. Sunday she had lunch with us but went home early because she didn't feel well.

The following Thursday I took her to the hospital. They kept her overnight then sent her home. The doctor said her heart was weak and she would benefit from staying in a nursing home & straightening out her medicines. At some point on Friday I told her that she must have 9 lives. Little did I know that she had used them all up.

The last thing I said to her was - Mary I love you. She responded I love you too.

When I found her on Saturday - the carton of coke was in the fridge unopened, Jackie was yelping loudly and Mary was gone.