39- Remembering My Grandmothers

Do not stand at my grave and weep..
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry..
I am not there. I did not die.
~Unknown
On this Mothers Day, I am reminded of my grandmothers, both very different women.
When my Dad’s mom passed, I was at the university walking between classes. A dust devil came and swirled around me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I knew my grandmother, Virginia Lent, was close to death, and I knew at that moment she was saying goodbye.
I looked to my left, and I had stopped right in front of a fountain that I walked by every day. Until that day, I had never noticed that it was a tribute to grandmothers. Definitely a chicken skin moment! My grandmother was very special to me.

Here are my Dad’s thoughts on his mom in his email to me this morning:

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!!! One day a year you are more special than any other day of the year. Being a mother is not easy and there are not specific rules that cover everybody. I look back and wonder how my mother was able to handle us boys and still be a wife to a sergeant. I am sure it was not easy but in fact very very hard but some way some how you women are able to do it. So my hat goes off to you and all the other mothers that are able to do it.

My Mother’s mom passed a couple of years ago, and I was fortunate enough to be in the room for her last breath. I sat next to her for many hours while her body slowed. I looked outside as she took her last breaths, and the clouds in the sky had opened up, as if allowing her passage to the eternal heaven she fervently believed in. Such a beautiful woman who suffered so much and never complained.
It tears me apart to think that someday my mother will be there too. I only hope that I am in a position to offer as much care as my parents have to their mothers.
To all the mothers out there, kudos for the love you give and the huge job you do, every day!
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