Since the last post from here on the Point my mom passed away.
She had struggled to get back to herself after a heart surgery last May and died during a hospital stay where the doctors were trying to come up with a reason for her prolonged weakness. We had a service for her yesterday and I hope that all those who were able to come left that service with a feel for her humor and how her example helped the family deal with her loss.
Friends and family joined us back in the Keeper's Cottage and what might be labeled an Old Fashioned Irish wake began. One tale led to another and another. There was a stretch where I thought I was the body, as my friends, Art, Dave, John and Mike, lit into my eccentricities and foibles. It was great!! This morning I made a note on the calendar we are using to track the weather and oil purchases and other miscellaneous events - April 4 - Funeral and Party - Go Figure.
My mom did get to visit here twice before her passing. She came the first time and managed to get upstairs with the help of my aunt Mona and her husband Richard. They knew she wanted to see the view. I couldn't believe she was able to do it, though I was not surprised she tried. We had very little furniture in place at that point but she got a feel for it and she got her peek at the view.
The second time she came she had a great deal less strength. She came with my Aunt Barbara and we had furniture in so they could settle in for a bit. We got talking about what might grow in the garden I have planned and how the painters had transformed the rooms from what she remembered years ago. Not a long visit but it will have to do.
She will of course be here in a million other ways as we go along. She was a regular on the beach out front for the past 10 years or so and no doubt I will hear her voice in my head when I need to be reminded of the virtues of patience with a pushy tourist. She was here yesterday in all the stories and in the reminders of her spirit and her fun loving manner. It was a party she would have loved.
