They Came for the House, but My Mother Left the Real Inheritance

Mom held on longer than anyone expected.

Last week, she finally let go.

I made the funeral arrangements alone. Picked the flowers alone. Signed the papers alone. Sat alone in the front pew while my brother shook hands like he was running for office and my sister cried loud enough for the whole town to hear.

The neighbors knew the truth.

They had seen me pushing wheelchairs through slush, hauling groceries, carrying oxygen tanks, and standing in pharmacy lines.