On a cloudy Friday morning, while idling in Dallas traffic, I noticed a new billboard for a nearby children’s hospital. I couldn’t ignore the irony of seeing a mother holding her newborn baby on the sign while on my way to visit patients who were close to dying. As a death doula (also known as an end-of-life doula), I spend time with adults in hospice who are in their final weeks, days or hours. It is one of the most vulnerable, gut-wrenching times of their lives and their family’s lives as well. Many people assume that being around those transitioning to death and their loved ones who are already grieving their pending loss is the perfect recipe for depression and despair. Instead, sitting at the bedside with hospice patients inspires me to make the most of each moment in my own life and makes me more aware of my own mortality.…