We the Living

It's one week since my mother died, and so many people have asked, "What can I do? Please let me know if there's anything I can do."
At Mom's funeral service on Saturday, Deacon Mike from Saint Stanislaus said it best when he said, "Go, live your life. It's what God wants you to do."
So, there are a few things that any of you can do.
1. Please, go live your life. Here are some ideas: Dance (Mom would have liked that) or laugh or do something kind for yourself or someone else. Sing at the top of your lungs, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows my sorrow," OR, sing, "You're going to miss me when I'm gone," as those were two of Mom's favorite lines.
Read a National Enquirer or drink a Pepsi or eat a salami sandwich. Mom would have liked that, those were some of her favorite things after cigarettes. :-) We have all predicted that consumption of Pepsi and National Enquirers will drop dramatically now that Mom is gone, God love her. Plant a rose bush in your yard, as Mom loved rose bushes.
2. Give blood. Go to your local blood bank (I promise, it's not scary if you haven't done it before), and I ask that you please give a pint of blood in loving memory of Betty DeRosa. Plus, most blood banks give you cool incentives to give blood, like a t-shirt or a pie (in some special cases). At the very least, you'll get cookies and juice.
When she was going through cancer treatment, she needed all types of blood products. There are many cancer patients and other folks who need blood and blood products. As you're doing it, think of my mother taking her blood transfusion, cursing out the nurses, and saying, "Ew, that feels yucky."
3. Make sure that you and your parents (if they're still alive) have adequate life insurance. I won't go into the details, but we spent a lot of time making sure that my mother at least had adequate coverage for the funeral expenses. Trust me, 10 years ago, my mom didn't have adequate life insurance. So we addressed that.
When she died, she didn't have much life insurance, but the policy was enough to cover those funeral expenses. And GET A LIVING WILL. I've now seen several people die who had to be taken off life support. This is not the same thing as a will. Remember the Terry Schiavo case? Schiavo did not have a living will, hence the battle between Schiavo's parents and her husband.
This is how your wishes are respected if you are ever put on life support. Do you want to be left on life support or taken off?
You don't want to put the people you love through that agony, trust me.