the difference a year makes

 Last year all of mom's descendants gathered in San Miguel for her 90th birthday. She loved it.

 Then, after a fall and a crack in her pelvis, she went into hospital. She hated the hospital, so as soon as was practical, Rosio and her doctors got her home. There she was reunited with Maximo, her dog, and her beautiful house, which she referred to as "the happy house." She lay in a hospital bed in the living room during August, and all of her children visited her. The last time I recorded her voice, she said, over and over, almost unintelligibly, "Wonderful world." I am not including this recording, because it is heartbreaking to hear her struggling for breath. Should you wish to hear it, let me know. The dog cowered under her bed, eventually refusing to eat, about when mom did.

 On September 21, 2017 she died. My sister Erin was there. And on her birthday today, Erin and Flip and "abuelita's" caregivers (from left Omar, Juanita, Dulce and Rosio, with Maximo) gathered in the spot where her hospital bed had been to celebrate her life.

And then this afternoon Rosio took Maximo to his new home—her home—where he tried to come to terms with Puppi, the dog of the household. We'll have to see how that goes.