A Grave Celebration
Page 34
Mom also joined the Mystery Guild Book Club, and would excitedly rip open each month’s offering to see if my latest book was being featured.
As my mother’s various illnesses grew worse and she required more time at the hospital, I learned how to write there. It required a lot of mental discipline, as hospitals are very chaotic places. Mom continued helping out, sitting up in bed and keeping track of my hourly word count with a chart in order to make sure I met my deadlines.
When talking to others, she frequently referred to me as “my daughter, the author.” I will, of course, never hear those words again.
And so, I would like to extend an appreciation that is difficult to express in mere words to those who were there during my mother’s final months, either to support her or to comfort me, or to make sure life continued on as normally as possible. I will simply mention them all by name: Tammy Brindley, Lynn Buonviri, Dennis Dougan, Misha Hash, Michelle Holso, Nancy Jackson, Sarah Jean Kemp, April Mattedi, Carolyn McHugh, Mary Oldham, Mary Russell, Faye Snyder, Diane Townsend, Christopher Trent, Petra Utara, and Marian Wheeler. Thank you all for your various kindnesses to me and Mom.
My brother, Tony Papadakis, was right there suffering with me while trying to minister to me at the same time. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy for him to do, yet I don’t know what I would have done without him.
When I consider my husband, Jon, I wonder what I did to deserve such blessings. He spent many sleepless nights at the hospital, and many weekends taking care of my mother’s house. No pyramid could hold enough treasure to equal his worth.
Once more, I extend my arms out to the nurses and staff of MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital Cancer Care and Infusion Services: Dr. Amir Khan, Mary Abell, Cathy Fenwick, Teresa Gould, Rose Jupiter, Diane Loftus, Rachel Louden, Gloria Nelson, Joan Popielski, Patty Svecz, and Sherry Wolfe. You all know why.
Domino Optimo Maximo.
About the Author
Photo: Jax Photography
Christine Trent is the author of the Lady of Ashes historical mystery series as well as three other historical novels. Her books have been translated into Turkish, Polish, and Czech. She writes from her two-story home library, where she lives with her wonderful bookshelf-building husband, five precocious cats, a large doll collection, entirely too many fountain pens, and over four thousand books. Learn more about Christine at http://www.christinetrent.com/.