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The most important gift of all
Submitted by: Louise O'B
KildareI am a married working mum of three young children. Family are most definitely my priority and honesty is an important core value to me.
Growing up, I had a favourite aunt who was one of the most kind and generous people I know. She lived her life quietly and kindly doing good deeds for people, without anybody knowing, some of these deeds came to light only after she died and I am sure there are many more that we do not know about.
Having chosen to look after her own mum she never married or had any family of her own, but she was always so good to all of her nieces and nephews alike and indeed their own children, whether it being bringing us on holidays as children ourselves or giving us a weekly treat.
She was an independent woman and several years after retiring from her job she still maintained that independence fiercely until she was robbed in her own house by two young girls.
That incidence brought about the onset of alzeimhers and unfortunately in the later stages of this disease we were unable to care for her fulltime, and putting her into a nursing home was one of the most difficult decisions my mum has ever had to make. The day that we brought her there is still etched in my mind.
She remained in the nursing home for several years as the disease progressed until we knew that the end was near. It was about this time that someone told me about The Secret and I can still remember reading it sitting beside her, about two months before she passed away.
My firm belief was that she would not be on her own when the time came and beyond anything that I would be there to hold her hand at the end. I just knew that I would be.
The reality was living nearly two hours away, with working several days a week and two small toddlers at that time I only tended to get to visit once or twice a week and there was a real possibility that even if I got a call to say the time was near, living that distance away she could have passed by the time I got there, as every day for the previous six weeks the medical team had said the time was imminent and it was not possible to be there all of the time.
I didn’t know how but I never let go of the belief that I would be with her. The universe had it organised for me, I was asked to swap a day in work for one that I would not normally work and having finished work that evening on impulse decided to head straight to the nursing home as opposed to going home first to the kids and doing a round trip back up.
I was joined by mum and after a little while there we both knew at that stage that it was only a matter of hours, we prayed, played music and said all the things that we wanted to and in the early hours of the morning she passed away with both my mum and I holding her hand. I could not have asked for a more precious gift and will be eternally grateful that I was granted my wish, there is not one thing I would have changed about that special time.
I have tears of gratitude as I write this even though my aunt passed away over three years ago, so Thank you to The Secret for granting me something that no money could buy.