Ok. I admit it. I had the best of intentions in 2005 with my blog. But I just ran out of time and steam.The most notable thing that happened was sad. My Mom, Akino Hatta Sarracco passed away on July 20, 2005. She was only 71 years old.
We didn't always agree on things, but that was because she taught me how to be independent and self-sufficient. I wouldn't be "me" without what I learned from my Mom.
She was truly the strongest willed and most brilliant person I ever knew. She amazed me with her ability to adapt and learn new things, but she always was worried about her english or her arithmetic. After she passed away and we were cleaning the house, we found notebooks full of practice penmanship. But she was sly, never letting on how smart she was. At every age, she managed to charm people - and at the end, the nurses called her "the cute little lady".
Mom's legacy is her perseverance. She worked so hard, all of her life.
Her will carried her through a couple of rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The tumors in her lungs were not operable, and Frank (my Brother) was determined to "fix" her. He sacrificed a lot to bring her to all of her appointments - he took wonderful care of Mom.
She passed away at Connecticut Hospice. She was only there for a day and did not suffer . We knew that she would hold on until we had gone for the night. But she wasn't alone, her nurse was with her, and for that we were grateful. The caregivers are remarkable folks, and we appreciated their kindness and their gentleness with Mom.
We were also overwhelmed by the number of people who came to the funeral to pay their respects to Mom.
We're going to Japan this coming July, to bring Mom's ashes home. She longed for Kyoto, and that's where we are going to put her to rest.
