Today was a day for reflection and circumspection. I actually got up at a reasonable time, thanks to the alarm. On a warm, sunny day, Mom and I traveled to Meadville for a family funeral......the next-to-last survivor of my Dad's family/generation.
We stopped in Chillicothe on the way home, and Mom treated me to lunch at DQ - yummy chicken strips with gravy and hot fudge sundae! After I got home, hubby decided to do more work on our latest "demolition" project - tearing out that lilac bush and all its accoutrements. Thanks to some help from the neighbors across the street, we got basically everything cut down to a short stump/root. We loaded the debris from today and Tuesday and it was hauled to the city dump site to be made into mulch. Now, we're trying to get the energy to nuke something for supper!
But back to the morning - this person whose life we celebrated was so special. I hope she knew how special she was to everyone. She was a letter writer - during World War II she wrote to all her first cousins in the service, which was a good group. She also started a pen pal relationship with the British war bride of a neighbor boy/soldier. That relationship continued until the war bride's death last summer, and two of her children were at today's services. The hospice chaplain gave a wonderful talk focusing on her sense of humor, which was legendary. In addition to her own three wonderful children and their families, there were 15 foster children who found comfort in her home. She was truly a person to look up to, to admire, and to emulate.
The special bond between the two of us was that of gender - after she was born into my father's extended family, there was a 28-year female drought until I came along. I was so special - for a couple of months until the next girl was born (ironically, her daughter), then another, and another.......you get the picture! My "princess" rank was short-lived.
This service was truly a celebration of life, more than any I've ever seen. RIP Norma, we all miss you but know you're watching over us.
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