My very special friend, mentor, mother-figure passed from this life yesterday around
noon. I got the call while Rachel and I were eating in La Crosse. I had planned on going over to see her right after we ate, but it was an hour too late. Maybe for the best, as family said she was not very responsive. For many, it may be a blessing not to see her suffer any longer in that nursing home bed, unable to walk.
She will no longer have to deal with the ruthless, unforgiving cancer and the aggressive chemo. Still, there was bittersweet comfort in knowing she was still with us. Now there is a very sick, empty feeling in my soul but it sparks a desire to sit and write every single thought and memory I have of her so it will never be lost and can only be shared. While I am sitting here prepared to do that, a three week old kitten is "mewing" loudly on my bed and my daughter is asking where things are in the bathroom so she can straighten her hair. Summer vacation has begun, new lives are being born, and life goes on. It somehow seems unfair, and it reminds me that in the circle of life there is a progression from birth to death - sometimes it is fair and sometimes it is untimely. It tests our faith, and brings us to the realization that we are part of it. Time is of essence. Today matters. There may only be today. Live life to the fullest. I have to chuckle when I think of one of the first things I noticed about D.'s house when I first met her back in the 80's was a banner on her living room wall. It read, "May you be in heaven thirty minutes before the devil knows you're dead". First impressions! She was quite the lady.
With D., I had my first taste of moonshine (she kept it in her hallway coat closet for 'special' occasions), mastered my first water skiing lesson on Kentucky Lake, had my first very fancy dinner of many at Jumer's Castle in Illinois, and watched Dr. Zhivago for the first time while talking about "covey of quail" (don't ask - it's embarassing!)..........LOL I'll write more as the memories come, but for D. nothing was impossible or unattainable. Circumstances could make her angry, but she always, always, always forgave, and expected others to do the same with her. She could NOT hold a grudge, always worked hard, but played just as hard. She is alive through her family and through me as long as we are blessed with life. I am most grieved to have lost one of the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and my heart is with her family. Born in October, 1933 - Died on June 7, 2009. Blessed be her memory.
