Everything happened so quickly and suddenly, and nothing was more poignant than the signs from nature, seen in our garden at Strathcona Crescent... The morning after we learned that Mummy's cancer had become palliative, there was freezing rain. As I looked out the window, it struck me that there was both Beauty and Sadness in this phenomenon. The branches of the bushes and trees looked stunning with their glistening frozen look, and yet it seemed as if God was crying frozen tears for our beloved Joan/Mummy/Nyonya... During the last week of Mummy's time on Earth, the garden suddenly came to Life... the daffodils raised their heads joyously from ground, bursting forth in triumphant yellow!! Tulips popped up, whereas one week before there was nothing. The purple cilla covered the back lawn as if a royal carpet laid out. The blue jays flew past the bedroom window and landed right on the branches close to us, where we could watch them up close. The squirrels played tag amongst the trees, reminding Mummy that this was the best view in the house! I believe that they came out at this time to show us that the Release was slowly coming; that we would have beautiful reminders of Mummy even once she was gone...