Lee, my niece and writer of this touching post, Saying Goodbye, expresses the pain of burying your mother. She talks about the mundane and the deep feelings of not wanting to let her go.
Her mother was my sister, June. For days I've thought of her and what I owe her for the life I lead today. I've thought of what I can say at the burial, if I can hold myself together enough to talk. There is no way to sum up the long life of such a special person. I will tell about my admiration for her from the time I was a small child.
Imagine that you have someone living in your house who is as pretty as the movie stars on the covers of the magazines. And imagine that she loves you dearly and will do anything for you. So different looking from my sweet mother who had lost her figure long before I was born, but just as loving as my mother and as kind and caring for her young siblings.
She was meant to have a happy life because she sacrificed so much for others, but as a young woman with two teenage children, she faced the death of her husband. Her world fell apart and the weight of raising the kids alone seemed overwhelming. She had not held a job for fifteen years.
She was a resilient woman who persevered under grueling circumstances. The family had to move where she could find work that would support her family. The children didn't fare well in the new school and June had to rethink her situation again.
All I wanted to do was save her from the overpowering grief and sorrow that had stolen my sister's smile, her love of life. But I could not fix her problems. Now I know that grieving is a personal and private matter that no one can ease for another.
She raised her girls and they are both doing well. She finally found another man that she could love and who adored her. But their happiness was short lived. Less than ten years of marriage before her health deteriorated. She knew when it was time to go, and she passed away with her family around her.
Now we must say a final goodbye. I can hardly bear it.
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| My sister, June |
