The Final Curtain

To everything and everyone there is a season and a time. As the song says there is a time to live and a time to die. Seems to me there is a passage in the Bible about that too. I started my Monday by getting up and showering. Then calling my mother to see if my uncle had gotten the strength up to take my aunt off life support. Nothing had been done. I took a shower and headed out to the hospital to see the family. As I stated before, my aunt wasn't there. Her body was, warm with blood coursing through her veins, but the woman I knew was not. I parked and found my Uncle Ellis, my Uncle Robert and my cousin Robbie sitting in my uncles car. My uncle Robert got out and hugged me. He told me they were waiting on Reverend Willie Collins to get to the hospital to say prayer before taking my aunt off life support. We all walked into the hospital together. Along with my cousin Nick who caught up to us with his little girl. She was talking to her Papa. Too young to understand her grandmother was in all essence dead. I walked back to my aunts room in ICU knowing it was the last walk back there for me to see her. The room was full of family. We all stood and laughed and talked, mostly about old times and my aunt. Time goes by so quickly. It seems as if you blink and life is gone. My uncle Ellis was coming in periodically and going over and hugging and kissing his wife's lifeless body. Tears came out of his eyes. He would never stay in there long, but would walk back out. At some point he simply disappeared. I don't know how he gained the strength to make it through each of the last few days myself. I would have been a total wreck. As the preacher arrived and started prayer in my aunts room I decided to head out and head to work. I didn't want to be there when they stopped the machines that kept her body going. I walked alone out of the familiar path into the parking lot. My uncle Ellis was once again in the parking lot where I had found him so often over the last few days. I gave him a hug. I told him if I could do anything to let me know. He took the opportunity to unload some thoughts. I've been told by friends I have a nature that makes it easy to open up to me about things. I guess he needed to do that. He said he had always thought he would pull the plug so easily. He had always said he would, but he didn't know if he had the strength to do that, but he would find it for his kids. He said he loved her so much and he didn't want to let go. He said he just felt like hitting something. I don't know what made me do it, but I said "Your brother Robert is up there, you could hit him." Then he grinned a little bit. I apologized saying it probably wasn't the right time or place for a joke. He told me not to apologize it made him smile and he gave me a hug that confirmed he understood I was just trying to keep it together myself. I told him the preacher was there and was saying prayer over Sandy. He said well, I guess that is what I have been waiting for. I love you and he turned and walked away. I went on to work. Sullen at best. Waiting for word. My brother sent me a text to let me know later that she had passed. I found out through my mom that my aunt had been taken off the life support at 4pm and she took one deep breath on her own and then her heart beat for three more minutes and just stopped. The final curtain of a life that ended way too soon. My aunts name was Sandra Slone. She was 43 years old. Her body was taken to Hite Funeral Home in Kendallville Indiana. Her soul hopefully gone to heaven to find peace. A life that was too short but one that had found something very few will ever know. True love. The love of a man that stood by her through it all and trust me there was plenty. The love of a man that was tormented by her loss and vows he never wants another woman. A man who made sure that where his beloved Sandy is buried he too shall be some day. The final curtain. The final chapter to a life so young.