My Goodbye

A Story by Somewhere

My goodbye to my mother. I love you Mom.

My mother suffered for far too long. Although I will miss her immensely, I will not mourn her passing, but celebrate her new life. A life without pain.

She was my best friend and my mother, my guidance, and my support, and she will live within me, my son and his children forever. She will live within all who loved her; her legacy here on earth will never die; as she has done her part in building a generation of strength, courage, perseverance and love.

She has passed on all her best traits to us. When I look at my son and watch him become a man, so much of her lives within him it makes me smile. He stands by his convictions, just as she stood by hers; both of them unmoving. Believe me, when those two went head to head it could get pretty ugly, yet by the end of the day they were laughing about it. He protects as she did, with all his strength and courage. He loves as she did, with all his heart and soul. He lives life to the fullest, as she did. He perseveres as she did; there’s nothing they can’t achieve or overcome.

All of our days on earth are numbered, that is the one thing none of us can overcome. Although if you were to ask, I’d tell you mom somehow managed a few extra days here on earth. She was the best sales person I’d ever known, it’s possible she sold God on a few more days. A few more days to give us all the strength we needed to let her physical presence go. I can hear her making her pitch to God, she’s mesmerizing. She has been my angel on earth my entire lifetime and is now my angel in heaven.

We didn’t always agree; she was as stubborn as they come, but our love never faltered. There was never any doubt that she loved us. That is a gift not everyone is lucky enough to have. Thank you mom for all your love, thank you for giving me all the necessary tools to raise my son, thank you for being there when I needed you, thank you for the laughter and thank you for allowing me to be an individual, and not a molded child. Thank you for loving us all unconditionally.

Lord Byron " 1809 “Bright Be the Place of Thy Soul”

Bright be the place of thy soul!

No lovelier spirit than thine

E’er burst from its mortal control,

In the orbs of the blessed to shine.

On earth thou wert all but divine,

As thy soul shall immortally be;

And our sorrow may cease to repine,

When we know that thy God is with thee.

Light be the turf of thy tomb!

May its verdure like emeralds be:

There should not be the shadow of gloom

In aught that reminds us of thee.

Young flowers and an evergreen tree

May spring from the spot of thy rest;

But nor cypress nor yew let us see;

For why should we mourn for the blest?

Most of all Mom, at this very moment, thank you for giving me the strength to stand here today in your honor. I’ll always love you Mom; I am a part of you and you will always be with me.