Mount Pleasant Senior Living 2019

www.CharlestonRetirementLifestyle.com | www.RetiringToSC.com | www.HotRetirementTowns.com senior living SL I t was a little after 4 a.m. For hours, sleep would not come. I desperately wanted to visualize heaven and connect it to the “Rainbow Bridge” poem. My mother had passed away the day before, and, six months earlier, my 4-year-old goldendoodle, Leo, died suddenly. The relationship between the two was unusual (to say the least) since my mother wasn’t fond of pets — of any kind. That is — not until the dementia diagnosis that came at the age of 92. I can picture it now: She, a tiny, delicate, frail, little lady and he, weighing almost as much as she, with legs long enough for her to ride like a pony. As months turned into years, my mother struggled with my name. She talked a lot to me — about me — and believed my daughter was my sister and thought my son was a “nice young man.” Yet, she always recognized Leo. When she could no longer remember his name, she gave him a new one: “Poochie- Poochie,” and he always brought a smile to her face. My mother lived just two months shy of her 98th birthday, and her presence is still greatly missed because I had her in my life far longer than most. Her absence at times seems ginormous for that same reason. On that dark and silent lonely night, I tossed and turned having private conversations, convincing myself once again that everything (and I) would be OK, someday. Memories of a time only months earlier, when I was forced to begin my life without Leo became strong, vivid and so powerful they caused me to get out of bed. Hence the heaven and “Rainbow Bridge” thoughts. In 2015, thousands of people debated the interpretation of Pope Francis’ words when he consoled a tearful child whose dog died. He said, “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all creatures.” With the sun still tucked far behind the curtains of the sky, I started to think about heaven and the poem — and how (if possible) they could be connected. I know about Heaven and the Rainbow Bridge Photos courtesy of Cathy Bennett. BY CATHY BENNET T