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OF HEAVEN AND HELL

HaloFlowersThe last conversation I had with my mother before her car accident was about heaven and hell. My position was that we lived our heaven and/or hell right here on earth. Mom said heaven was a whole lot nicer than anything we could imagine down here because in heaven we would come to truly know and understand God.

I hung up the phone wondering how Mom could possibly know more about God than she already does. Bob and I have often joked that if anyone deserves to wear the halo of sainthood, it is our mother. For as long as I can remember, she has shown me and everyone else around her nothing but love.

Ironically, Mom is now wearing a halo but she isn’t in heaven yet. She has been fitted with a neck brace designed to immobilize her neck by pinning a steel frame to her head. It looks like a halo but probably feels like a crown of thorns. Maybe this is just one more hurdle for Mom to jump on her way to heaven.

By Camille Armantrout

Camille lives with her soul mate Bob in the back woods of central North Carolina where she hikes, gardens, cooks, and writes.