Orphan Day

We drove here Wednesday afternoon as soon as we could, after hearing from the Duchess how my mother was doing. She slipped into unconsciousness as soon as they gave her the bare minimum dose of morphine, and had not awakened. We kept a vigil with the Duchess most of the night, adding Mr. and Ms. Science, Ikes, and the Science scions as they arrived one by one. About 5 am I needed to take a nap, and went back to the motel, to wake up in a panic when I got a couple more texts from people. I returned to Mother's room and found that the Duchess had finally gone home to nap, leaving Mr. Science and family to take over, since they had gone to sleep earlier in the night. My mother had not really changed. She continued to be peacefully unconscious as her breathing gradually shallowed and slowed. We had not expected it so soon, but about 3:30 this afternoon, she took her last breath, and was gone. Many arrangements remain to be made. I am so done. I hope I can sleep. Thanks to everyone who sent us kind thoughts. The bare minimum is all I can handle right now. More later, maybe.