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."
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.
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3 comments:
Joan - that is absolutely beautiful. What a blessing she was to us all.
I happened to look at your blog today, and am saddened to hear of your loss. What a lovely tribute to your mothers' life and beautiful spirit you have shared through your writing. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Sending you love and big hugs.
Carol, sorry to be so late in responding to your comment..... I know you understand the long journey we all face after a loss of someone we love so much. You were very sweet to post this and I think of you also many times after the loss of your brother. As my Dad always said..."life goes on"..... we try to adapt to a world without them ....and it's not an easy road. They wouldn't want us to stop seeing the joy that is in our lives still and time does help. I sure hope all is well with you and yours these days..... are you still thinking of starting a business? Would love to hear about it !
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