Chapter 17- The End

"There are only two things certain in life, death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin once famously quoted. As our loved ones grow older, we begin to realize how little time that we will have left with them. Aaron talks in this chapter about the end of his mother's life. This chapter will hit home with just about anyone who reads it because we all have lost someone that we love. The passing of his mother reminds me of the passing of my grandfather ten years ago. My family and I had to watch my grandfather drift away slowly as Aaron had to watch his mother drift away. When we got the call that he was being checked into the hospital, my mother, father and sister all went up to visit him. I had to stay behind due to school and work, but planned to join them later on that evening by driving up to visit him. As I was about to leave to drive up to Atlanta, my father called me to let me know that  grandpa was being checked out of the facility to go home. I believed this to mean that he was doing well because my father told me it was not necessary to drive up to visit. So I stayed home. My grandfather passed two days later. This shocked me, not because I thought he was doing well, more because I never got the chance to say goodbye to him. From reading this chapter, Aaron got the chance to say goodbye, but I feel that he was sad that he could not be there when she finally passed. To this day regret the chance of never getting to see him one last time and tell him that I loved him. His last days were hard on the family, especially my grandmother who let her health become secondary to taking care of him. His passing was good because it ended his pain and suffering, but it was still sad and hard to lose him. At his funeral was one of only a handful of times that I can remember seeing my father cry. I know that he is in a better place now and hope the best for him.