Day 3 - 124 -- Another Loss to the World

There is a hole in the world today. An amazing woman left us yesterday. I've known her my whole adult life -- high school onward. She was the mother of friends of mine and she and I have kept in touch all these years. My parents became close friends of she and her husband and I never went back to Moose Jaw without stopping to see her. She always had a smile and loved to laugh, even when things weren't always sunny for her. When both she and my mother were widows, they were even closer friends. When mom was still driving, she would pick up this lady and others who were 20 years older than mom, and off they would go to Curves to do circuits at a slower pace than the 'younger' crowd. The two of them went to coffee with a large group every Thursday and to brunch with many of the same group on Saturday -- it was their routine, even after mom stopped driving, another friend stepped in to be driver.

My friend, and she was like another mother to be honest, was the kindest person I've encountered. She cared about animals and always had cat rescues in her home until she moved to the seniors' apartment complex. While in their house, there were always strays that were cared for in their yard -- fed, watered, and even given a heated self-enclosed shelter with an entrance at the side of the garage. She felt strongly about the need to share this world with all animal and plant species -- felt it was our duty to ensure all were taken care of and would be around for centuries to come. I recall having a first birthday celebration for my cat, Toulouse and wondered if people would come -- she fully understood why I would think this was a good idea and was the first to say yes, before I even had to explain it all. I found pictures of that night when sorting through some of mom's photos in March. My friend taught me many things -- things I quote to others. Sunday was the most recent time I shared her statement that 'we shouldn't wish our lives away' -- one I've used here several times. <smile> My Nutrition in Aging courses have heard her wisdom often. That won't change.

We had many wonderful dinners at her house and my parents' house over the years. As an undergrad student, she would send a care package of Christmas cookies back with me to school. I loved the braided shortbread candy canes in red and white. <smile> She made great hot crossed buns, cabbage rolls and perogies, too. Three women, of which my mom was the youngest would celebrate their birthdays together since they were all within a 9 day period in February. I recently found pictures of those events, too.

Many songs ran through my mind after getting the news this morning, but lots really focused on my feelings of loss rather than on this wonderful woman. She often said that people shouldn't live as long as she did and see the generations younger than them begin to leave. She turned 100 last February. I always told her that if she was here, it was for a reason. Her life touched so many people. She was a school teacher in a one room school on the prairie when she began and her career ended after many years of teaching grade 2 in a k-9 school in the city. Students still spoke fondly of her almost 40 years after she retired. She was special and these lyrics help me to express that here. Enjoy!

Gone too Soon -- Michael Jackson