CELEBRATING THE LIVES OF FOUR LADIES

You might think it’s strange to remember people by having a photograph of tulips that are past their best, but I love them when they are like this - there is so much beauty still there - so thought that today these would be appropriate as we remember not one, but four ladies.

Today would have been my Mum’s birthday;  she would have been 99 years old - so no doubt she is organising a party in heaven and she is sure to have made a cake, because that was one of the things she was really good at - oh and pastry too, but sadly she did not pass those skills on to me.  I think though, that for the party we are going to have next year for what would have been her 100th birthday, I had better get out her old recipe books and learn how to do what she did so well!

Then there is a lovely lady from our Church, Olive, who died a couple of weeks ago - and what an encourager she was - always there with a beautiful smile and an encouraging word.  We hadn’t known Olive for very long, but every time she passed us on her way out of Church, she would stop and have a chat.  What a wonderful Christian she was and although we couldn’t go to the Service of Celebration at Church late this morning, we decided that we would go to support Olive’s family at the 10 o’clock service at the Crematorium.  This particular service was quite short, but no doubt the service at Church was much longer and full of memories from all those who knew and loved Olive.  

The third lady is the Mother of one of our neighbours,  - another lovely lady - who always liked to have a laugh and a joke whenever she came round.  During the lockdowns, they were our family when we couldn’t see our own.  We had lots of chats, often played silly games, enjoyed one another’s company and had great fun, so we were  more than happy to go to the Service to commemorate her long life and to support her family too.  Whilst listening to the tribute, we wondered if she and Mum had known one another as they both worked at a clothing factory in Swindon during the war years and both used to enjoy catching a bus to Chiseldon Camp where the American Soldiers used to put on dances and give the young ladies things like chocolate, cheese and stockings, all of which were hard to come by in the war and I have no doubt there were a few romantic liaisons too!

And then, of course, there is the service online on Friday to celebrate the life of Estelle, a special Blip f friend.  I am hoping to watch the service as it is live-streamed, although of course, they are 11 hours in front of us;  I think a little nap in the day might be in order so that I can watch the service that starts at 12.55 p.m. in Australia, but will be at 1.55 a.m. here in the UK.  

It is sad when people die and of course, we miss their physical presence, but I believe that it is good to celebrate the lives they led and the joy they gave to their families and friends, so that’s what we did today and what we will do early on Friday morning.

I wrote this poem back in 2017 when we saw a Hornbeam tree being cut down just across the road from where we live and it seems appropriate for today as we celebrate the lives of four lovely ladies:

“The tree that gave us so much pleasure
      in spring, summer, autumn and winter
           is now gone - 
its branches shredded
     before the buds 
          had time to grow and change - 
but no-one can take away the memory
     of its gnarled and spreading trunk
          or its beautiful shimmering leaves.
When someone is taken from our lives -
     whether young or old
          no-one can take away 
               the precious memories that
                    they leave behind
                         in our hearts.”
© Maureen Iles - 1/3/17