With the death of my beloved Queen this week, my feelings are quite tender and my thoughts about the hereafter on my mind...
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| Mom |
I’m a believer . . .
My mom was a wonderful person. A hard worker. Kind and caring. Supportive. Encouraging.
And funny. She gave us such terms as “Don’t eat that! It’s for Christmas!” and “I’m going to stop buying that peanut butter. You kids just eat it!”
And the ever popular “What's wrong with that milk. There's nothing wrong with that milk. It tastes just fine!”.
But Mom had a trait that she struggled with her whole life.
She was a world-class worrier.
She worried over debt and income and other things.
But mostly, she worried about her family. Especially her kids and grandkids.
She worried so much that she made herself sick.
A sickness that, twenty-one years ago, took her life.
I’m like my mother in a lot of ways. Good ways, I hope.
And, though I’m not nearly in her class when it comes to worrying, I do have that tendency.
And that brings me to what happened that night . . .
Some of my children were struggling. The downturn in the economy had cost many in our area their jobs and our family was not immune.
The stresses of job-hunting as well as keeping a family going with little or no income were taking their toll.
And I’d been worrying.
One day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, sunk in despair.
And then a scent drifted over me.
A scent I hadn’t smelled in years.
My mother’s favourite perfume.
Now, you have to know that I did/do not wear perfume. And that particular scent hasn’t been sold in forever.
I knew it was my mother.
Knowing I was upset and doing what she could to make things better.
She succeeded.
Thank you, Mom.
I miss you.
I believe in the hereafter. I believe that my Queen has earned her rest and is, even now, sitting with her feet up. Maybe drinking a cup of tea. Thank you for the gift of your selfless service, Your Majesty.
Enjoy your rest.
So many similar thoughts, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have read the story of the rainbow that appeared in the sky (after the rain stopped just when the Queen's death was announced). I tend to be a little skeptical in these signs but some experiences since November of 2018 have changed my mind. timing was too perfect? Coincidence? I don't think so. I also had the scent experience once, months after my mother in law's death, in a different context.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences for your losses, old and new. The Queen's death has made me very sad, also.
ReplyDeleteWorry is like a rocking chair, it feels like you are moving but you're getting nowhere. Prayer actually changes things.
Your family will be in my prayers.
I'm sorry for the loss of the Queen and your Mum. Thoughts and reminders of my Mum too creep up on me from time to time - the 10th of September made five years for her.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange how you can miss people like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd that story about your mother's perfume gave me goosebumps. Well done Mother!
Memories and visits come when needed. Babushka most definitely believes. Matter of fact, when I need/think of my madre I ask for signs. Comforting to know they are around us.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing choice of embrace your mother chose, Diane! Just as brilliant as she would have made on her feet😊 Indeed, so very present. Dad, your Uncle Sten, must be here far more than I believe. Once, a year after his passing, I was out on the land he had farmed for 60 years, down by the slough. It was all softness of colours, wind and sky. And I felt him in the curling wind around me. The air was sparkling with tiny lights and we were closer than touch. Then it seemed like he was going away or maybe I was questioning it all. Desperate to keep him near me just a little longer, I asked, “Do you miss it here?” And with the rush of a breaking wave, his energy turned upon me. “I am more present here and now than I ever was as you remember me!” And I felt him gently move away with the wisps of wind that had returned to close our eye within the storm.
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