Pearly Gates

This morning, an elderly gentleman I recently fit with a new aid, and whose granddaughter has been taking care of him while his wife has been in a nursing home, called to reschedule an appointment because said wife passed away last night.  Of course I obliged, but he ended up making it to his original appointment anyways.  His granddaughter always brings him and after our appointment, she told me that she stayed with her grandmother all day yesterday waiting for the inevitable. 

She told me that towards the end of the evening, her grandmother would take a deep breath and after a few moments, the granddaughter would think that was her last breath, only to hear her grandmother breathe yet again.  Granddaughter told me this went on for a while before finally she did take her last breath.  When I asked how she was coping, and how grandfather was coping, she said she thinks of it like this. 

You see, her grandmother was apparantly quite the hoarder and granddaughter thinks when she would get to the Pearly Gates, grandmother had a bunch of stuff with her and God said, you don't need that in here.  So in life, she'd take another breath, get rid of some of her 'stuff', and try to renegotiate with God.  Finally, granddaughter figures grandmother let go of all her 'stuff' to get inside the Pearly Gates, and grandmother took her last breath here on earth.

I love that she thinks of it like that, and just wanted to share.