I was thinking today how Mom has been gone about the same amount of time that it takes for a human baby to gestate. I thought how we get about nine months to prepare for birth, and how my family had about two years to prepare for Mom's death. I anticipated the birth of my daughters, relishing in the weekly and monthly changes. Doug and I made plans by preparing the nursery. Mom and Dad got down the baby bed and bassinet that was used by all my siblings and me. Mom started making baby pajamas and receiving blankets during that gestation period. In retrospect those nine months went by incredibly fast even though near the end I was very ready to be done being pregnant.
I didn't anticipate the death of my mother even though we had a much longer time to prepare for it. We didn't use the time the doctor told us she had left to make plans and relish in our time together. I blew it, and I'll never get that time back. The times I went back to visit, I cooked and cleaned and did laundry b/c I knew Mom was too weak and Dad needed a break. In retrospect I realize how much time I wasted, and how I was doing exactly what Mom used to do when she came to visit me. When she used to come to my house and do all those things, I used to think how much I wished we could just sit and visit and not worry about all the work. Yet, I did the same thing during those last months and years. I had opportunities to sit down and just visit and reminisce and let her talk, but I didn't. Instead I did chores.
It wasn't until I looked up the gestation period for humans at http://www.answers.com/topic/gestation-period-1 that I realized the average number of days we spend in the womb is 280. That's how many days I've been writing.
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