A special thank-you note

I feel so special to have been missed here! But Mom's last couple of weeks were so intense that there was no time for computers. Then, after returning home from 10 weeks as 24/7 caregiver, I feel like I slept for a week.

Mom passed away on January 19 after a 3-year battle with ovarian cancer. If you would like to see her tribute page, please google "Elaine Lundgren Duke".

For the past few days I have been writing thank-you notes to the many people who supported us for so long. I didn't want to do it, kept putting it off (by Southern standards of courtesy I'm running late), but it has turned out to be such a healing thing to review the many kindnesses that were generated by Mom's unfortunate circumstances. I also want to thank the many people here for your wisdom and support. On many days, this bulletin board was the best place to be.

I don't know what the future holds, grief being such a strange process. Innocently changing the sheets yesterday, the whole caregiver/laundry thing with its funky stains came crashing over me again, along with that satisfied feeling you get when you change your loved one's bed. It's complicated.

Thanks again for being there.