Sweet Dreams

My friend's mother passed away December 11, 2016.  Friends and family gathered together last night to say goodbye.  When I arrived at the funeral home and walked inside, I was immediately aware of an aura of peace.  Sometimes when you visit a funeral home to pay your respects this isn't the feeling you get but maybe one of sadness, depression and loss which is understandable but not so at this one.  There wasn't any sense of this at all.  Even though there were people milling around, standing around, hugging one another, paying their respects, this beautiful feeling of peace overwhelmed everything else.  She looked beautiful and serene, this eighty year old woman in a crisp white cotton blouse with little buttons that twinkled in the candlelight, looking as if she had just fallen asleep.  I stayed for awhile then said my goodbyes.  I am constantly aware of feelings that can bombard me at times almost to the point of overwhelming my senses and this is what happened as I left for home.  Driving along, beautiful scenes started flooding over me.  Sunny meadows, small framed houses, beautiful rolling hills with marshy swales and towering birch trees.  Family portraits with grandparents, mom holding the latest addition to the family, dad standing next to her and a bunch of kids.  Flower and vegetable gardens and clotheslines with sun bleached sheets and shirts.  Happy, happy, happy.   Everyone was happy.  And if there were any cares or worries, the families stuck together, just taking them in stride.  I believe I was picking up on some of the memories of this eighty year old woman.  Even though she had passed on, she couldn't let go of the memories that had molded her, framing her life.  She was rich with them and kind enough to share them with others.  

Thank you, Mary