On Easter morning, I have learned that my mother's best friend Bernie has passed away. Though she was not related by blood, she was a part of our family as she came to a lot of family gatherings. We had many conversations, but the funnest ones revolved around UH football, as we attended a few games, and she loved to jokingly talk trash about the team's opponents.
The last few years were a lot more serious as Bernie suffered from dementia. She literally lost control of her mind as she could no longer remember things. She could no longer take care of herself. Her daughter had to make sacrifices to take care of her.
So in this Easter morning, Bernie died in her granddaughter's arms. My mother visited Bernie's family this morning before coming to our family's Easter gathering. While my mother lost her best friend, she also acknowledge that Bernie is no longer suffering on Earth and is now in a better place.
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(note: I wrote about Bernie's situation (without mentioning her name) in a blog post written after Easter 2 years ago.