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Saying Goodbye to Loved Ones

It's been a hard winter.  Not only did we have to say goodbye to my grandmother a few months ago -- she had lived a long, happy life and passed away at age 98.  We also just recently lost my mother-in-law. It's difficult to say goodbye, and hard to know what words to say to those who are still here, shouldering the pain of their loss.

What remains in the midst of this loss is love.  Love that was expressed when we were with each of them, sharing moments together.  For my mother-in-law, of whom our thoughts this week have been consumed, those moments grew to many especially during her last five years.  We were lucky to be living near my in-laws, and were able to help when her dementia set in and grew over a five-year period.  Each week included a number of visits with my in-laws, helping out, and also having them over for dinner.  The timing of our move north about six months ago coincided with the necessity of moving her to a memory care facility where she received much-needed outstanding personal care during her last months, at a time when she could no longer do many daily personal tasks.  Even with the closeness of the time spent together, and knowing her health was failing and she would soon go to a better place, it was still so hard when we reached that moment at the end.

The love for those we lost is not the only love we are reflecting on right now.  Love is also there for and from those who remain here, going about each day.  Love is there as we give our support to one another and receive support from friends. Friends dropped by with casseroles, called us to check in and see if we were okay, and sent cards.  And here in our home, we express love throughout the day with caring words and kindness.

It seems important even here in this blog, to find a way to express the abundance of love and thankfulness.  We are so grateful for the time we had with both of these special moms.

Comments

  1. This was beautifully written and am sorry to learn of your recent loss.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your kind words of support, Jerry.

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