A Goodbye to Mom

Last week, my family gathered and we lay to rest our beloved “mom mom”. 

She was a huge part of our lives and we are all struggling with the reality of having to say goodbye to her. 

Her grandaugher, Joni, found a beautiful verse by Edna St. Vincent Millay that helped with what feelings we are all having these days. It goes as follows:

"I shall think of you whenever I am most happy,
whenever I am most sad,
whenever I see a beautiful thing.
You are a burning lamp to me,
a flame the wind cannot blow out,
And I shall hold you high in my hand
Against whatever darkness."

My mom was there for us at every turn in our lives and we tried to be there for her as the tide turned in her life.  Illness could not completely steal that spark in her eye and that feisty spirit.  She never stopped telling us that she loved us even when our names where locked away and hard to retrieve…..even when the days came when she could only muster a whisper at best. 

When I think of how lucky I was to have her as my mother I can hardly verbalize my gratefulness.  Her last years of illness do not overshadow the many years of love, dedication and vitality she showed all of us since the days we were born. The memories of her life with us are now and will always be a comfort in years to come. Her example of a faith filled strength and capacity for love was seemingly boundless and we are all the better for it.  Mom is gone from our arms but not gone from our lives and she will forever be alive in our hearts.