One month ago my mom passed away. She was at home, as she wished, and had visits from friends and family. She also asked for singing and even dancing around her bedside and so we fulfilled her wishes. The solidarity of joining voices and invigoration of dancing eased the sorrow of seeing her physical decline. It was a powerful experience to be there at a time when great unanswerable questions about the mysteries of the universe were so present. There were words floating around that I never got the full context of, but the gist I got was that my mom had said "we come into this world alone, and we leave this world alone" and I'm not completely sure what she meant because I haven't had the chance yet to delve into it with ones who know, but again it begs contemplation on those great mysteries.
One thing I do know is that my mom would want us to keep on living fully, celebrating and appreciating what we have in this life.
Chris and the kids came to Michigan to be there for the memorial service and it was a lovely event with loads of meaningful participation and storytelling.
And then we drew ourselves away from Michigan and came home to try to get back into the swing of things, in the midst of the holidays.
Audrey participated in a beautiful Christmas pageant at her school.
Chris and I had a lot of fun and silliness at our friends' annual Christmas party.
Our little family celebrated Christmas with all the allure and excitement of Santa and elves.
And we rung in the new year with a couple close friends, we watched televised broadcasts of midnight in other times zones and we laughed together and sang one last song for 2015.
Below is my mom's obituary and the program for one part of the memorial service with a piece of writing that brings comfort, reminds me of the great care, concern and interest she had in those she met all around her, and inspires me to live with love and peace in my actions.
