This weekend my mother died.

She was on the MS 150 Bike Tour from Duluth, MN to White Bear Lake, MN. She collided with a truck near Sandstone, MN at an intersection. My stepfather (of less than a year) called from the emergency room in Sandstone to let me know there was an accident. At the time, all he knew was what he told me: My mother was in an accident, it was serious, and that I should drive to Sandstone right away. Randy still had hope, but she died right away at the scene.

Most of my mother's extended family made it to the hospital within two hours, not knowing how serious things were until they got there.

The last 48 hours have been some of the longest in my life. I've gone through some of the most indescribable shock and confusion, and I haven't cried this much in my life by far. I don't even know how to describe my feelings other than that right now.

Yesterday morning I went to a service at my mother's church where I cried through much of it. My extended family cried through much of it as well. We spent time at my grandmother's house afterwards with family, trying to come to some kind of footing for what happened and how to deal. Went over to my mother's house last night with Randy.

Today has been the first day where I have been able to start putting things together, but at the same time I've been consumed by so much business with my extended family: funeral arrangements, writing an obituary, contacting people, dealing with everyone that shows up to give sympathy, compiling photos, preparing stuff for the reception, meeting with the mortuary, and working though everyone else's emotions and impressions on how things should go. More stuff I've forgotten about as well, I am sure.

So although I have been dealing with the loss of my mother, today I feel very removed from reality because of all the business surrounding things.

I could share some short stories, some memories, or some more thoughts on my mother but I wouldn't be able to complete this post. She was the most important part of my family by far.

What I will say is that she got to live some of her best years recently and I have not seen her happier in my entire life. Her smile in recent photos say it better than I can, but I can't post them now.

Funeral will be at Saint Mark's Lutheran in North Saint Paul at 11am Thursday. Visitation will be at Sandburg Funeral Home in North Saint Paul from 4pm until 8pm Wednesday.

Photo: Flowers I gave my mother for Mother's Day. I took the photo yesterday.