At first, she would go on the anniversaries of his birth and death, plus Memorial Day, which is really close to her birthday. Dad honored and adopted the tradition until his death in 1992.
We children would happily assume the ritual for the next twenty-eight years of her life, even though Mom was still able to drive for several more years. With the new anniversaries added to her trips to the cemetery, there were always opportunities for each of us to spend time with Mom doing something she needed to do in order to grieve her way.
From 1965 to 2019, Mother's Day could not be celebrated with all of her children. David was always missing from the picture.
Mom needed a minor surgery in late-March of 2020. It was a day surgery, but things didn't go as planned and she was admitted to the hospital. After a week or so, she was transferred to a skilled nursing center. I visited her that day. It was the last time I saw her alive. The next day, COVID restrictions were put into place eliminating personal visits. We could still talk to her over the phone, but there were no more face-to-face visits with family or friends.
She would contract COVID within the month and be transferred back to the hospital. She was having trouble breathing. I called her the morning that they intubated her. We said "I love you" to each other. It was the last time we talked to each other. She died about a week later on May 3rd.
I imagine that was a joyous occasion for her!
