From the journal of Rebecca Martin, June 5

June 5, 2017

We lost Esther last night and Jackie took it really hard. Esther has been slowly slipping away from us for over a week now. I knew it was coming, after all, she was 94. She had been on medication for her heart before the pandemic hit and had been doing OK without it, as long as she was just in the Care Home and not really active. But traveling around was just too much for her, especially after losing Fred.
We had just gotten back on the road after the rig broke down and had only been traveling for a couple of days. After searching the area around where we broke down and found a really new Adventurer RV. It's like a luxury hotel suite on wheels and I love it! All of us fit nicely, there's lots of sitting space and a bed if anyone has to lay down. It was full of gas and propane, so we just got in and took off.
Esther was really having a hard time breathing and had been put in the bed when we first got in the RV. She was propped up with pillows and had even managed to eat dinner the night before and a little food at both breakfast and lunch. Then, in the late afternoon, we all thought she went to sleep, but she had really slipped into a coma. She didn't wake up again, just had a harder and harder time breathing before she stopped breathing all together.
Jackie was sitting by her side the entire time and refused to leave for more than a couple of minutes to eat and use the restroom. She took care of Esther, feeding her cleaning her up and wiping her forehead with a cool cloth. When Esther wouldn't wake up, she about lost it but managed to pull it together when I mentioned her other former patients were watching her every move. She gathered her scraps of dignity and kept tending to Esther until her breathing became so labored it was painful to watch. Jackie held her hand and spoke to Esther about how she shouldn't be afraid, she would be joining her deceased husband soon. She smoother Esthers brow and cradled her frail body in her arms at the end, making sure that Esther knew she wasn't alone at the very end.
Once Esther was gone, Jackie went outside and completely broke down. She cried for hours and it was all any of us could do to comfort her. We all took turns hugging her and talking to her. Her former patients kept gently reminding her that this was always going to be the end result, even if they had stayed at the Care Home. Eventually, she got herself back under control and started talking about Esther with the others.

It was a really subdued night. We stayed right where Esther had died and wrapped her in a sheet, placing her in a grave James, Rick, Jake and Jim dug while Jackie was finishing her break down. Marvin read a few passages from the Bible, Ginger said some words about Esther since she had known her the longest and Jackie closed our little service with a couple of stories about Esther's time at the Care Home. Then the guys filled in the grave, fashioned a cross from boards they found and we all went back to the RV to get dinner ready and settle in for the night.
Today, we got up later than usual and slowly had breakfast before having a meeting to decide if we were continuing today or staying here for a day to mourn Esther. We decided to stay for the day so everyone to pay their last respects. The guys decided to search the general area and found a little Honda that started so the RV could stay right here. Today will be one more day of lost travel, but it's the right thing to do.
RIP Esther. We'll all miss you and your cute little giggle.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.