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