I am sure that there is no way to prepare for it.......I tried, and I tried, and I talked to others and to myself, I read, I went to groups, and I got stronger and stronger, and still, the day my mother died, I felt like an abandoned 2 year old. But, I did live those last months with my mom as I wanted. We talked, we giggled, we cried, we touched, and we told each other our fears, our dreams...My mother died anyway, but I will always treasure the times we had together, even knowing each day might be the last.