My mother died last night. It was unexpected.

She had progressive dementia from a stroke several years ago and did not recognize my sister or me anymore. This has still hit me harder than I expected since I have long thought it would have been a blessing if she had died with the stroke. This is especially true knowing how active my mother had been until just a few years before the stroke.

I’m remembering her as she used to be. She was into so many things before anyone else - balloons, colored stockings, folk dancing, massages, black holes, aromatherapy, mediation, etc. My sister once said only our mother would have taken a class on how to breathe.

She is to be cremated. We will not be having a memorial service. Instead, my sister and I are going to have someone take us up in a hot air balloon to spread her ashes. This would be exactly what she would want since she took her first hot air balloon ride in 1978.