Grams' Celebration of Life

When my Mom passed away in May we knew we would wait and do a 

Celebration of her Life in the summer.  

We knew she wanted a party. She didn't want it to be a 'downer' and she wanted there to be food.

We did our very best to do her proud.

My Dad chose the Wildrose Community Center for the location...

right on the way to their house.  Small and full of character...just like Mom.

It was definitely a team effort!

From the decorating to the food, the set up, clean up and the program itself.

Everyone pitched in to make it happen.

The weather was perfect....not too hot, but sunny and beautiful.

The entryway when you first walked in...

Some picture boards...

As guests began to arrive, the son of a close family friend, Dan, 

greeted everyone with bagpipe music.

His dad, Dave began the program with an amazing eulogy.

He spoke of he and his wife's close friendship with my Mom and spoke of her kind and caring heart and her gift of listening.

He honored her memory so well.

When he was done speaking, he invited guests to share stories, memories, etc. 

about my Mom....and they did!

There was a lot of laughter, talk of her sense of humor and the 

ability she had to get along with anyone.

Several of my old high school and college friends were there and spoke about always wanting to go to my house to hang out with my Mom.  She was so easy to talk to and always made my friends feel welcome and comfortable at our house.

Mark spoke.

He mentioned the fields and fields of sunflowers growing for the first time on Wildrose prairie just down from my parents' house.  "Steph would have loved them", he said.  She would have!!!

He encouraged people to take a little side trip over to the sunflowers to enjoy them, stand in them, take pictures and think of my Mom.

When it seemed as though everyone had spoken who wanted (or could :) ), I stood.

I had been thinking about this moment for months.

And I couldn't get it down on paper until early that morning.

How could I say everything I wanted to say to her?  About her?

Here's what I said.....

I really miss my Mom.

I am so grateful for all that she taught me while she was here.

She taught me how to love.

She pushed me to be the best person I could be.

She believed in me...sometimes more than I believed in myself.

This poem always reminded me of her:

"If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together

there is something you must always remember.

You are braver than you believe,

stronger than you seem

and smarter than you think.

But the more important thing is,

even if we are apart, I'll always be with you."

-Winnie the Pooh

My Mom was an amazing listener!  I can remember mine and Lori's friends always coming to our house to talk with our Mom.  Even after I was away at college and had moved out, my friends stayed in touch with my Mom.

She made you feel so good.  She was so positive.  

Even when she got sick she would always say "it is what it is". 

Her new reality.

No complaining or whining about it.

She taught me what it means to be resilient and to FIGHT!  She was so strong.

She continued to teach me things...

the way it made my own girls feel when she would send them a little card or "whimsy" (as she would call the little toys, etc.) in the mail.  She was always so good at remembering important dates and sending cards for almost all of them!

I'm sad that she won't get to see her grand-daughters grow up, but I'm so happy that they had this time to get to know their Grams and learn some things from her too.

I'm going to miss our long phone calls, trips to the beach and every other little thing in between.

Thank you Mom for being my teacher, my cheerleader, my superhero.

And thank you for bringing so much joy to so many people's lives.

I ended the program with a song that I remember listening to often growing up....

that always makes me smile and think of my Mom.  

Three Dog Night's Joy to the World.

We stayed for a while and shared more stories and visited with old friends and family.

When we left the center, we drove past the sunflower fields.

There were cars lined up all along the road stopped and taking pictures.

Mark was right....my Mom would have loved them!!! So bright and sunny and cheerful.