They knew.
For two more weeks， mother clucked， smiled and held Jacob. For two weeks she spoke to my father， her children and grandchildren in complete sentences. For two miracle weeks， she gave us joy.
Then she quietly slipped back into a coma and， after the visits from all her children， was finally free of the pains and confines of a body that no longer did her will.
Memories of my son' s birth will always be bittersweet for me， but it was at this time that I learned an important truth about living. For while both joy and sorrow are fleeting， and often intertwined， love has the power to overcome both. And love can last forever.