Last evening, after supper and our Solitaire losses, after Kathryn’s shower and her being tucked into bed, after Clara had been settled for the night in her special chair with her blankets just the way she likes them, I got up from where I was sitting and reading between them and quietly eased my way over to the light above Kathryn’s bed and clicked it from its lower setting to the OFF position.
As I had side-stepped between Kathryn’s bed and the wall, and scooted around the end of her bed, I found Clara smiling at me as I reclaimed my chair, our heads now quite close together.
You stay sometimes until we’re both asleep, don’t you?
Yes.
Do I snore?
No, I’ve not heard you.
Well, I wondered. You can’t hear yourself if you are asleep and no one is going to tell you.
I snore; Kathryn snores.
People ask me if it doesn’t bother me that she snores and I tell them ‘No, it makes me feel comfortable that she’s sleeping and I know she’s okay.’
Clara and I smiled at each other and then I sat back down for a few more minutes and watched the last of the daylight fade from the window and soon heard Kathryn snoring and Clara breathing evenly. I left, turning at the door to look back at two ladies who have shown me grace and wisdom.
Amazing isn’t it? Such lovely women at the end of their lives still overnight kindness to those around them. I’m sure you are a comfort to them both.
My dear friend, gone for seven years now told me at the end that she wasn’t afraid of what would happen to her after she died, but she was worried about the journey by herself. Then she looked at me and smiled and said she wouldn’t be alone, of course, because her angels would be there to guide her. I learned so much from her during the 25 years I knew her. However, her most important lesson was her grace and kindness at the end.