Life Cycles
During the second week of June, 2012, my mother began what would be the last week of her life here with us. Of course, at that time, we didn’t know that. My family and I went about the routine we had established in the previous 7 months, caring for her as the cancer, which began in her pancreas, was tearing through her body like a school of ravenous piranha. My sister, brother and I went about our usual routine, which typically included us bossing her around — a fact which she was quick to share with the hospice nurses. “Mom, …