I was not there, so I can only take my family members' words for it, but a week before my mom died and after she had been admitted to Hospice, she was radiant. She just looked, according to my uncle, truly beautiful. Not at all sick, not at all tired, not at all haggard as you might expect anyone whose body was preparing to exit to look. Her eyes, which had always been green, turned a piercing shade of light blue. When I saw them for the first time a few days before she passed away, I could not look away, even though they shocked me.

My uncle suggested, and I am inclined to believe him, that the transformation was one of her turning into her transcendental, divine self before passing away. I don't think she knew about the change in her eye color; we certainly didn't talk about it. But my mom had always been quite proud of her excellent eyesight and had planned to donate her corneas after death. They were harvested and sent off wherever those things go. I went about life thinking how great it would be for someone to share in my mom's gift of sight.

But maybe in the process of turning into her divine self, something went wrong with her eyesight. Maybe that's what caused the change. I don't know. All I know is that the next time I was home, there was a letter saying that Mom's corneas were not able to be used after all. I was left thinking that maybe it was a fair tradeoff for the radiance in those few days.

quarterly recap the second

I know, I know. I am a travelogue withholding shrew. I haven't been in much of a mood to write much lately, but I do plan to keep plugging away at chronicling my trip. For now, if it would please the court, I will revisit my yearly resolutions:

Completed:

4. Oregon.
5. Get a passport.
7. Take a belly dancing class at least once, to try it out.

6. Use it [the passport].

Done! 12 days in Europe. 3 countries. A lot of water. 8 cities. It was glorious, as you already know.

In Progress/Omnipresent:

1. Be healthier.
Still doing alright here. Second quarter saw a dramatic upswing in regular, daily physical activity. But then I went traveling for a month and it all got pushed aside (well, except when I was in Europe and walking 5-8 hours a day). I am hoping that getting back to my regularish work schedule will help me routinize this again.

10. Write more.
Trying, trying. I think I need to give myself a writing project, like revisiting an old paper and trying to get it published. But don't hold me to that.

No Progress/Holding Pattern:

2. Rhode Island.
Likely on hold until the fall or, dare I say it, 2009.

3. Vermont.
Same!

8. Go to Drinking Liberally Indy at least once, to try it out.
Last time I said I'd shoot for April, this time I'm not even going to be that bold. It is still on the list of a priority activities for me, but is pretty close to the bottom of the list.

9. Get a regular volunteer gig in my community.
I'm still struggling with what or how this should be. I did recently join a philanthropy circle through which I will be doing some sporadic service, but I'm not convinced that's what I envisioned for myself when I set this goal. I think I need to think more about my time and how/where it can be best spent.