Today marks 1,000 days of living in Portugal as an American immigrant/expat.

But today, I am not in Portugal. I am in a hospice facility 10 miles from where I was born. I am with my family. We are saying goodbye to my mother as she dies. A night spent on a sleeper chair next to her bed, talking to her, writing this article, and thinking (hoping) she would take her last torturous breath and finally find peace overnight. But Death has its own timetable.

Let’s hope peace comes soon. Let’s hope she knows we are here, even though her partially closed eyes are rolled back in her head. Let’s hope the nurses are right that the gurgling and gasping sounds of her jagged, intermittent breaths are worse for us than they are for her in her heavily drugged state. Let’s hope that her religion and belief that she will soon see my father is a comfort to her now.

My mother is 92, with several ailments, so this is not an unexpected journey. But it has been a surprisingly rapid and confusing progression that started with a wound and a rash. Then, before we knew it, there was internal bleeding, a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, and various blood clots. Next, an antibiotic-resistant staph blood infection, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, possible stroke. You just don’t think it will be a skin rash that ultimately leads your mother to her death.

This is not the post I’d planned for today. That “1,000 Days in Portugal” article will have to wait. Instead, I’m sharing words for living. Words for dying. Words from hospice. Words of my own.

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Every minute, someone leaves this world behind. 
We are all in "the line" without knowing it. 
We never know how many people are before us. 
We cannot move to the back of the line. 
We cannot step out of the line.
We cannot avoid the line.
So, while we wait in line:
Make moments count.
Make priorities.
Make the time.
Make your gifts known. 
Make a nobody feel like a somebody.
Make your voice heard.
Make the small things big.
Make someone smile.
Make the change.
Make love.
Make up.
Make peace.
Make sure to tell your people they are loved.
Make sure to have no regrets.
Make sure you are ready.


~ Author unknown. From hospice.

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1,000 days
1,000 miles
1,000 tears
1,000 smiles

1,000 days
1,000 cries 
1,000 hurts
1,000 byes

1,000 days
1,000 nights
1,000 wounds
1,000 lights

1,000 days
1,000 songs 
1,000 rights
1,000 wrongs

1,000 days
1,000 laughs
1,000 hugs
1,000 drafts

1,000 days
1,000 times
1,000 tries
1,000 rhymes

1,000 days
1,000 wishes
1,000 worries 
1,000 kisses

1,000 days
1,000 me-and-you's
1,000 days
1,000 I-love-you's

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Thank you for reading ❤️. Wishing you a weekend filled with big voices and loud love. Make sure to tell your people you love them.
Make sure you have no regrets. Make sure you are ready.

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All images are my own.

The Hot Goddess

Instagram: retired_rewired_inspired

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