Loss

Yesterday was my birthday, number 28, and as always I was reminded how fortunate I am to have dear friends near and far. Each year I receive cards and kind words from all over the place, sometimes from folks I've not heard from all year. For as long as I can remember one of those cards has arrived from a very special grandmotherly figure who has been such a source of consistency and calm throughout my sometimes chaotic life. This year that card was missing from the stack and I learned this morning that she passed away yesterday. It seems somehow fitting that she would go on a day that is meaningful to me. On a day that I was always reminded of her presence and will now always remember her. I understand that the last few weeks had been very difficult for her and I am grateful that her body is finally at rest, but her quiet strength will be sorely missed by many.

Eunice was a part of my life from the time I was born and was always such a positive influence. She opened my first bank account, came to visit me at my first job, and was there to celebrate my graduations and wedding day. She never missed a birthday or anniversary and her cards were always charming, each including a witty or poignant remark. She lived down on the farm with Grandpa Elmer and, although the animals are no longer there, her home is just the same today as I remember it when I was a child. Same furniture in the same spots, same marble run toys, and same music box on the same table. Eunice's arms were always filled with the bounty of her garden. She could cook up the most delicious asparagus, corn on the cob, and farm fresh eggs, and she'd always send you away with your own arms full of whatever was in season. If you were lucky you might even get an egg with two yolks :) I have so many beautiful memories from my years visiting the farm, feeding animals and visiting their babies, climbing on hay bails, riding through the cornfields on a go-cart, swinging in the tree around back, and just being with such wonderful people that I knew inherently cared for me so deeply. It's hard for me to comprehend that this wonderful person, who was just such an invariable presence, is no longer with me. Her spirit, though, will remain alive in the legacy of vivid memories she's helped to create in my life and in the stories I'll pass on to my children for many years to come.