I never met her before.
I had never met him either. . .
A son who was bedside when his mother died, peacefully after suffering a stroke less than two weeks ago.
He made a very difficult decision:
TO RESPECT HER WISHES OF NO AGGRESSIVE TREATMENTS OR INTERVENTIONS.
She died, comfortably with her son by her side.
He instantly became an orphan with her last breath. . .No Father, No Mother, No Brothers, No Sisters. . .
But. . .he had F A M I L Y:
His daughter arrived shortly after her grandmother died and so did four of his best friends from A A
The scene quickly turned into a most sacred Requiem.
We surrounded the patient in a most perfect IMPERFECT circle and I asked one simple, significant question:
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE STORY ABOUT EMMA?
We quickly discovered it wasn’t O N E but many stories that started flowing. . .
each inspiring yet another
. . . and then another.
There was laughter. . .There was tears. . .There was silence. . .There was sacred RE-Member-ing.
There was a sacred
R E Q U I E M I N G
I shared a small prayer with us standing there holding hands but we all knew
THAT WHEN THE BENEDICTION IS LOVE the Song is the sweetest.
“T H E Y”
will tell you what is the most powerful force in the world today. . .
But make no mistake. . .the greatest force in and out of this world today is
OUR MEMORIES
OUR STORIES
OUR LOVE. . .that makes them so
R E Q U I E M – A B L E !
It’s one thing to tell THAT story . . .
Quite another to be a participant in it . . .
Something MORE to NOTICE
that we’re a THREAD in the Tapestry
that never fades but covers and comforts us all
as we become Notes in the ever unfolding,
never ending
R E Q U I E M
Sing it with me,
w i t h u s. . .
You’re already in the C h o i r, anyway. . .
There’s plenty of room in the Circle. . .
C o m p l e t e
U S
Bonnie Juzenas says
Chuck, thank you for sharing this. Pure poetry and all that is at the heart of hospice. When friends say to me, oh I don’t know how you can do it, being with someone that dies… If they were able to open themselves to the experience of the CIRCLE, they would understand. The capacity to love is the greatest gift. Thanks for sharing your gift! Always, Bonnie
ChuckBehrens says
“GETTING IT” is IT!