As I got into my workout clothes, yesterday afternoon, I listened to the answering machine.
There were two messages.
One message took my breath away.
Alison, our next door neighbor had called to tell me that one of our neighbors, Marilyn had been found dead in her bathtub. Apparently Marilyn had fallen and struck her head in the bathtub. Her body was found by the police and her family a couple of days later.
Marilyn loved to work in the yard. Several times in recent month she had told us, the yard was getting too big for her. She said she had been thinking of moving into a smallish condo up the street.
I wish I could say more about her. I wish I had had the time to talk with her about her family. She lived alone in her house.
But you see, she did not really die alone.
Friends and family were with her to the very end.
Marilyn died surrounded by all her memories.
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2 comments:
It sounds like Marilyn lived her life in a way that made her happy, and I am glad for that. The saddest thing to take with you when you go? Regret. I try to live my life in a way so that when my time comes, I'll have no regrets. I do things that those closest to me disagree with sometimes, I am often kinder than I should be to those who have hurt me deeply. But I have to live with myself, everyday, and so I make decisions that will allow me to sleep well at night, even if not always in my best interest. That is how one can travel this earth through life, and leave behind no regrets. I pray that Marilyn lived the same way. Rest in Peace Marilyn.
Hi, Art - thanks for the post about Marilyn. Her death has stayed with me almost non stop since Ed told me about it yesterday afternoon. I've felt awful, wondering if there is anything we could have done to prevent it. I waver on this question. On one hand, we live in a community which acknowledges its elderly residents and tries to provide them services and safety, from shuttles to keep them from being housebound to special police programs offering regular check-ins with those in our community who are alone, elderly or not in good health. On the other hand, we as neighbors still too easily can forget to *be* neighborly to those around us who need it the most. All in all, it may have made no difference - Marilyn's death may have occurred like this whether or not her family or neighbors were checking in on her regularly, or even if she *had* availed herself of the police check-in program. But I still can't get it out of my mind, and I feel like I should be going from door to door in the community reminding everyone to keep up with their neighbors, particularly those who are living alone.
Julie
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