What happened to September, October and November?

I don’t wish to repeat those three months, simply digest them. Here’s what I remember.

In September, my sister Marlene went downhill day by day with nodular melanoma. Early in October, she died. I was with her and her family in Cumberland quite a bit during those days.

I returned home and got things caught up a bit; I wanted to be alone to mourn for my sister.

Two weeks later, my mother was admitted to the hospital, unable to breathe. Osteoporosis, over time, had bent her spine so drastically that her breathing, more and more shallow, was finally gone. After being at the hospital for most of a week, there were arrangements to be made and company from out of town.

My hospice patient with ALS died a few days before my mother’s funeral. Terry was in her late 40s, her caretaker, Le, is even younger. And jobless.

Things were getting caught up a bit; I wanted to be alone to mourn for my sister, my mother, my hospice patient and her partner’s joblessness when my Aunt Jean, who had been battling cancer for over three years, died. Four days after Jean’s funeral, my son’s grandfather, Lloyd, died. He and his wife Betty were important players in my life’s story. They were another set of parents for my son during a time when I was grossly irresponsible. Lloyd’s funeral was Saturday.

Things are again getting caught up a bit; I am alone to mourn for my sister, my mother, my hospice couple, my aunt, and my ex-father-in-law.

Five deaths . . . that is where September, October, and November have gone. I needed to write this.