The Face of Beautiful

This is the face of the most beautiful woman I have ever known. She is my paternal grandmother .. and I love her very much. The picture was taken at her 100th birthday .. nearly 2 years ago. Her name is Vivian .. but all of her friends called her 'Biddy' as she was tiny .. and busy .. like a dear little biddy hen. lol

She passed away on the 20th of September .. and though not unexpected .. has still left a sadness in my heart that cannot be comforted. Already I miss her terribly.

This is a poem that my Aunt Shirley .. her only daughter .. wrote :

"Don't weep for me my loved ones
For I am as happy as I can be
I'm going home to be with mamma
Where I know she waits for me.

Don't you hear my mamma calling?
Like she called the others one by one
I'm the last one to join them
At last my battle has been won.

So live your lives to the fullest
Love and laugh from day to day
Remember that I love you
And it will always be that way.

Dad and I will be waiting
When your life on earth is o'er
We'll both be there to meet you
When you cross the other shore.

So don't be sad when I leave you
No matter where you roam,
Remember that I am happy
Because at last I'm going home."

- written by Shirley Brown, September 2007

I have lovely memories of this lady .. of curling up with my sister in a huge rocking chair in the corner of her cozy kitchen warmed by an old wood stove .. of sneaking into her pantry that always smelled of her lovely baked treats and peeking in the many tins that stored those delicious bites .. of Christmases seated at her huge dining room table with all my relatives and eating her wonderful meal .. of sitting in her den and making her laugh over some silly story I had to tell .. of discovering how very loved by her I was .. when I hadn't even realize that I was .. and of always being welcomed with open arms whenever I arrived at her house. She was the stereotypical 'granny' type .. complete with gray, neat, curly hair .. glasses .. and her big old apron .. she always smelled of Lux/Jergen's soap and freshly baked something .. and was as dear and caring as a granny should be.

She was my last surviving grandparent .. and her loss is profound in ways I could not have imagined .. bringing a sharp focus on my own advancing clock .. and seeing my 70+ year old father in a new light that leaves me vulnerable to the implications of that reality.

I seem to be more cognizant of the ebb and flow of people into .. and more pointedly .. out of .. my life right now. I've had several longer term friendships unexpectedly change course in recent months .. with the subsequent sense of loss that always comes with that .. and .. happily .. the blessing of a wonderful new relationship being born.

It's life I suppose .. flowing along .. endless divergent paths .. ever finding each other .. merging for a moment .. or forever .. but always moving us ever forward .. until finally .. as with my grandmother most recently .. we find our way home at last.