Another Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, and as we were walking today, we noted it felt like Thanksgiving today… the air crisp, the hills alive with colour, the lake muted and chilled in the distance.
We just had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend together with my extended family here in Vernon. One of the most poignant moments was gathering at the graveside of my mother, who has been gone just over three years.
How I miss her at times like these, because she was the ultimate hostess, and knew how to prepare for a family gathering. She was a true matriarch, and the empty space at the table was felt. We also missed my nephew Chris, and others who have gone before us, including my first husband, and the memories of grandparents and other loved ones linger at times like these.
Grief was fresh this past week, as we gathered with my Uncle John to honour and remember his sweet wife, and grieve with their children. I was also impacted by another loss this week, a sweet mother who I had the privilege of knowing, slipped away to heaven just before Thanksgiving.
Life is brief, and fragile, and it is these times of gathering that the missing can feel even more intense, even as the memories are often sweet.
I couldn’t sleep one night this week, with these thoughts on my mind, and I wrote this especially for those grief is new and deep.
Her Presence
The walls echo loneliness
Dense with memories
Her presence
So vital
Filled these spaces.
Living in the void
Yes, living
Can be the hardest
Task of all.
She coloured her world
with grace
The fabric of all
she left behind
is a constant reminder
she was here.
And the space
she filled
so empty
Yet filled with
gifts she shared
Great love
courage, spunk
faithfulness and faith
in a tomorrow
where we will be
together
Once again.
<3 Grace. 2016
