A Time for Remembrance

Derek's mother passed away Tuesday morning after a brief fight with multiple myeloma (a blood and bone marrow cancer) and amyloidosis. If you read about the conditions you will know, as we did, that the prognosis was grim, however we thought we had much more time with her than we did and we are all so very sad.

I wrote this the day she died:

Sally Jane Washburn Smith Cottrell

February 16, 1954-June 17, 2008

She was a daughter, sister, wife, partner, mother of two, step-mother of two, grandmother of three, friend to all. She was a runner, swimmer, hiker, biker, and brown belt in tae kwan do. She was spirited and independent, with a bawdy sense of humor. She loved bad puns. She laughed often.

She liked to order salads or sneak tofu into a meal, but she also polished off the occasional bag of chips or container of fluff. She lived life to the fullest. She was brave. She pushed herself to do more. She kept learning. She was a survivor.

She was compassionate and caring. She taught women to nourish and nurture their babies, to listen to those babies and to their own hearts. She helped them birth, welcomed many souls into this world, and even caught some in her own hands. She helped others who were aging, sick, or ready to leave this life.

As she moved from place to place within this world, across a country, across a sea, she met many people and left a lasting impression on them all. She helped so many, and did so much good, that there is no doubt her spirit lives on within us all. 

With Lily on Mother's Day, May 11th: 

With Aden on June 5th, a few days after her arrival at the university hospital near us: 

With her sons Drew and Derek when they moved her to the oncology floor on June 11th:

With Ronan on her last "good day," Friday, June 13th: