Below is a piece of fan mail for this blog, which came from my mother. Since she has accompanied several persons in beautiful ways before their deaths, she shared with me this list of Gifts for the Dying.

One person for whom my mom cared deeply and to whom she showed great affection was her brother-in-law’s mother, Mrs. Hall.

My mom also recounted to me a time when the hospital nurse was trying to get Mrs. Hall to eat a banana and she refused. However, when my mom took out some chopsticks from her purse to give to Mrs. Hall, who was Japanese, then she immediately began to eat the banana.

The best gifts for the dying, as they are the living, are the gifts that affirm that they are known and loved.