It's All Very Personal

While lying in bed the other morning, I was thinking about one particular scene in the movie Beetle Juice. Adam and Barbara (newly deceased) have gone for help, because they're rather frustrated with their afterlife. They end up in a waiting room much like you would find in any "live" government office, but filled with quite the cast of characters: a woman who had been sawed in half, an explorer with a shrunken head, etc. The following exchange with the receptionist takes place:

[in the waiting room of the afterlife]
Barbara: Adam, is this what happens when you die?
Receptionist: This is what happens when *you* die.
[points at a gaunt man smoking]
Receptionist: That is what happens when *he* dies.
[points at a woman cut in half on the sofa reading]
Receptionist: And that is what happens when *they* die. It's all very personal.

I mention this only because it is my mother's time to die. Her nine-month battle with brain cancer is at an end. It's been a difficult few days here with family as we keep a round-the-clock vigil and move into other phases.

Grieving, too, is all very personal. As such, I'm not sure what this space will look like in the next week or so as we deal with funeral arrangements and other issues. I have a few half-finished posts in the queue that I will try to shine up and set to auto-post. Please be patient with comment moderation, as my access to the internet may be intermittent and I have a variety of traveling to do.

Life moves on, sometimes in fits and starts and pauses. So will this blog.