Death is a strange and holy event. It seems to me that there are 2 times in our lives, when we as human beings present ourselves to the world, stripped of the clutter of personality, with only our essential being: this is birth and death.
Mother-in-law was not an easy person to relate to, and yet, as she approached the end of her life, her most essential need: to have her family around her was percieved and responded to, without her having to exert any direct pressure. Her sons and husband sat continually by her bedside during the last days of her life. All 3 were present, during the 2 hours that she was lucid and awake on the last afternoon. To have her family close by was always her deepest need, even though in life she could express this need in ways, more suited to repell than attract.
She died in Tynset hospital on September 6th in the late evening. Only 5 days earlier the family had gathered to celebrate her 68th birthday with cake and gifts at her hospital bed. Many people gathered for the funeral. Some travelled from quite far away, and the church was full.
I find to my surprise, that the feelings of resentment that I harbored toward mother-in-law for many years, have dissipated entirely. And I wish for her that she may find clarity and purpose as she finds her way into the spiritual world, and looks back on the life that she has left behind.
Below is her final resting place, within the walls of the Folldal Church yard, with a view of the distant mountains, and the sound of sheep bleating in the pasture nearby. The church was full at the funeral and an abundance of flowers cover the grave, which for now is marked with a simple wooden cross.
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