Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

My Mother died nine years ago today; and, while I’m not one to be emotional about her passing, I always remember the day. It began with a call in the night, since I had left her home three days earlier to return to work in Chicago. Through the thinnest of phone wires, Mother’s good friend, Libby, told me she had passed away – quietly, silently, although I believe she was lucid until almost the end.

Maybe, this convergence of Mother’s death, the Pope’s, and Terri Schiavo’s has made me more reflective about death and dying; maybe it’s because I’m nine years closer to my own demise. In either case, I find myself pondering what to make of a life in the face of death.

My Mother was an enigma to me. On one hand, her friends adored her, although not one told me why. My own theory is that she was vibrant to the end — taking trips, reading books, supporting causes – at a time when those whom she befriended were less inclined. She became their role model, and I admired her for it.

On the other hand, Mother baffled her family and managed, on one occasion or another, to annoy every one of us. I don’t know why this was the case either, although I do have a theory. Mother felt more comfortable with her friends than her family, because she felt she didn’t fit into her family. This was never expressed openly, but – if the theory is accurate — maybe it should have been.

One way Mother and I were different was in terms of unfinished business, my mini essay for yesterday. Mother left little unfinished. She believed that you completed what you started, regardless of whether you enjoyed it or not. It didn’t matter whether it was an obligation or an option. I doubt her bookshelves contained unfinished tomes, except for the one she might have been reading when she died. She even ate leftovers faithfully.

She was as devout a Catholic as John Paul II. And as much her own person. They were of the same generation, as well, and I imagine my Mother was part of the welcoming committee in Heaven when the Pope arrived yesterday, his business finished on earth.