<font color=blue>she wouldn't even know me.</font color=blue>
Jim -
You've been there, huh? For most of the last year, I would have to say that Mom either wasn't sure or had absolutely no idea who I was. It was cute, however, that she did recognize me and my family as people she was always happy to see, whoever we were.
<font color=blue>was there when she drew her last breath.</font color=blue>
Not to belabor our personal tragedies on this thread, but I find it interesting that you were drawn to your mother just before her moment of departure. In my own case, I had only been to the property in the middle of the week maybe twice in the last 5 years, but on that particular day there were matters that I
thought required my immediate attention, so I took off rather abruptly, leaving a note for my wife and kids, and headed up to Mom's place. The "matters" turned out to be almost nothing, but I decided to spend the night before heading home again. It was that evening that Mom left us.
Quite a coincidence. Or was it?