Help Me Be Less of an Insensitive Prick

[Los Feliz Slim]

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I am not a doctor, but I think she's probably going to die within four weeks.

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Well, I set a great line, but those of you who took the over are winners. Nana passed away very early in the morning on Friday the 27th, peacefully, in her sleep.

The five months since I made this post have been pretty awful for Nana and everyone close to her. Since her initial hospitalization she only returned to independent living for a couple of weeks, and ended up in a nursing home for the last three months of her life. That said, I can see "reasons" why this happened this way: Nana and her daughter (my wife's aunt) repaired their relationship, but I also feel like this period of time "prepared" the rest of us to lose her. After what she'd been through, her passing away can only be viewed as merciful.

The last five months have a quite profound effect on myself and my family. The nursing home she was in was absolutely amazing and is supported by the Jewish Federation, and Nana was admitted only because of her ties to the community. I like to think of myself as a secular humanist, but you don't see Secular Humanist Homes for the Aged anywhere, and taking care of the elderly is something we need to be doing. So I'm taking a hard look back at Judaism, less because of belief and more because I've had the value of "belonging" to a community laid bare for me. Lots of other new questions, fears, revelations, etc. Need to sort them and wrap my head around them.

R.I.P. Mildred Selma "Midge" Dinnerstein. We love you Nana.