A Privilege We Don't Often Get

(((Yes, I made it through the week of Cub Scout Camp. I'm here to blog so it couldn't have been that bad - although my back and my legs tell a different story! I will post some cool pics from Camp as soon I can.)))

THIS POST, though, is not about Cub Scout Camp at all. It is about the privilege of saying goodbye to someone before they are gone. As in, gone to the other side. And this woman, she will most definitely be going to Heaven.

Mrs. D is my brother-in-law's Mother. She is also my childhood best friend's Mother. She is also my hubby's best friend's Mother. (The bro-in-law and best friend are all the same person, by the way!!!). She was my neighbor and fellow parishioner at Church all through my childhood. She was there when my heart broke for the first time, when I was left behind for the Prom by a boy who took another girl and didn't tell me. (She accidentally let that cat out of the bag as the others were getting into the limo!) OOPS. Her husband, Mr. D, has been mistaken for being my father, and vice/versa. (We think they might be related somewhere down the French Canadian lines of heritage). She let us "kids" hang around their house when we had nowhere else to go. She made her son (above mentioned friend/bro-in-law) walk me home in the dark even though it was right around the corner. Both my hubby and I were invited to their family gatherings throughout the years, and they were invited to our Wedding and our son's Baptism and First Holy Communion. You could easily say that she is a second Mother to both my husband and myself. Our families are linked in more ways than one, and this pleased her to no end.

Mrs. D has terminal liver and pancreas cancer. She has recently decided not to continue with Chemo treatments. Today, her family held a "Celebration of Life" party at her home where she is resting comfortably. It was a wonderful thing to do - it gave all of us a chance to get together and let her know how much she means to us. And the best part of it all was the atmosphere was a happy one - because she has total, undying faith in her God and Savior, and she knows she is going on to a better place and that one day she will be there to greet us when we (hopefully) meet up in Heaven.

One thing we were asked to do before we left was to write her a message in a journal. It was very hard to do, both because it made me sad but also to try to say goodbye without actually saying it. In the end, it made me feel good and when I left her I was able to tell her I loved her and that was as good a goodbye as any. As my title says, it is a privilege we don't often get. I ended my journal entry with "Til We Meet Again", and I sincerely hope that it comes true.

G