Saying Good Bye

Guest post by Mom:

These posts are horribly out of order...or rather they feel very discombobulated. This post though is about our final time with Oma. Pete went up to be with his siblings the first weekend in June. We spent about ten days without him when we decided we needed to go up and see Oma. She had not been eating or drinking and we were really just waiting for her to pass. Pete's brother, who lives in Seattle, and his family were in town as well. His sister, who had recently moved to Boulder, was also in town.

I arrived up in SLC and just kind of took over the kids so that Rachel could be with her Mom and Pete without any worries. We, of course, went to the zoo.

I love this photo...

We had awesome seats for the bird show and had birds swooping overhead.

I even took the kids swimming at Murray City Pool (one of my favorites!) We thought it was going to be too cold, but it was actually pretty great! Although I looked half crazy, I think, running in and paying for seven kids and one adult.

They make you take break at the top of every hour. The kids created towel forts.

Iva jumped off the very same diving board that I use to!

Emma and Romney jumped together!

Sam loved being at the Preslars and trying to look at Chase's animals.

On Sunday, while everyone else was at church, Pete and I stole away together with the two little kids and went to the zoo on a small date since we had hardly seen each other. We let the two littles feed the giraffes which was so fun.

It took all weekend, but the girls and I finally made our way to Oma's room. We had been hesitant to take the kids because Oma was very thin and didn't look like herself, but in the end we gave them the option. Siena wanted to say goodbye in person, but Cara was less inclined.

Cara and Iva eventually made their way down the hall to say goodbye. It was hard, but it was good closure for us.

We gave Apa big hugs and then Dad decided to come home with us. This was Sunday, June 11. We drove away knowing we wouldn't see Oma in this life again, but didn't know just how long she would last. Pete's brother also had to return home to Seattle that day. Margaret had returned to Boulder the day before. It was strange for us all to just part ways, but the time had come.

We arrived home and climbed in to bed. We had just fallen asleep when Pete's sister, Rachel, called just before midnight. Oma had passed just a few hours after Apa had left for the evening. It felt very much like Oma had waited for us all to leave her alone. She was too interested in staying with us. It was a strange feeling to lie in bed with Pete while holding Sam between us and just absorb the news. Pete's exact words when Rachel told him were "Ohh! She made it." We had all been praying and wanting her to be released from her earthly body. The news felt welcomed, but still very strange. The journey was done. We were grateful that we made the decision to be up north that weekend and get one last goodbye.