Our mother has passed from this earth.
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- Written by David Lee Whitehead David Lee Whitehead
On the morning of February 8'th of 2022, my brother Nathan notified me that our mother had taken her last breath. I was just starting to work a support request by one of the company's clients when the message came through on my cell phone. Although I knew this was coming, it of course hit me really hard. I notified Dispatch that I needed to get away from the computer and ultimately took the remainder of the day and the week away from work. Naturally, the past three days have been exceedingly difficult and the overwhelming grief has been coming in waves. It's slowly subsiding now though but as anyone who has lost of loved one knows, the pain never really goes away.
In 2008, February 23'rd my father had passed away. I was fortunate enough at the time to cover the flight to Houghton Michigan for my brother Todd and myself so we could be with him this one last time. I'm extremely grateful to have been with him as he passed from this earth and that I was able to speak with him, tell him how much I loved him and how I appreciated all that he had taught me about life.
My wonderful wife Debra had already lost both of her parents over the years, first her father and then her mother several years after. Although I deeply understand the loss of loved ones, I've learned that losing one's parents is different. It seems to make one feel alone and lost in the world. Although Debra has been my anchor through all of this, I can now completely understand how she's felt since the loss of her mother.
In November of 2021, we decided to to take a road-trip to Irving Texas so I could see my mother one last time. I'm so thankful that we were able to do so and will never forget it. At first, my mother didn't know who I was, then she thought she was hallucinating. Once she realized what was going on she just kept asking “You came call the way here just for me?” … at times with tears in her eyes. My brother Nathan took this picture the day before we had to leave for home and I’ll always cherish it. This is how I will remember her.