Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Losses.....and Gains

I had meant to write this post a few days ago, and even in that time some more things have changed. My beloved Grandma Helen passed on June 27th in hospice; her obituary is here. She was an amazing woman and I want to write a special post for her with lots of information about her life, so it will take a bit longer.

I am reminded sometimes of the circle of life; we are so saddened to hear of someone's passing and then sometimes in the next breath the miracle of birth explodes onto the scene. My starkest memory of this happened on the day after Christmas six years ago.

I had just received a phone call that Helen's younger (and only) brother has passed. He was a great big guy with a booming voice that made us girls laugh at every turn. We loved when he would pretend to pick us up by our ears (which really was us clinging to his forearms in desperation). He clearly loved his lot in life as the younger brother to a house full of sisters; the friendly teasing was always abundant when he visited.

Less than a half an hour later I got a call from a good friend that their daughter had been born, at home and healthy. The excitement in his voice was so healing (and I was also thrilled that I warranted a phone call! This was pre-facebook era of course).

Welcome to the world Holly


And so it has been these past weeks; Helen has gone and new babies have come (Rick and Emily, Ryan and Kayla) and the promise of those almost here (Rachael and Jeremy, I can't wait!).

*****

I received news yesterday of the passing of a colleague that I worked with for many years at Goddard Space Flight Center. Louis was an amazing man; I never saw him fail to light up a room.

For Louis,

For the times we laughed,

For the times you told us wonderful stories about your dog Tiffy,

For never letting us look at fanny packs the same again,

For bizarre and interesting stories about growing up in the south, where the fried chicken sat on the counter top all day in the summer for snacking and no one ever got sick,

For being the life of the party at my wedding, how could I have forgotten that you caught the garter,

For being my friend,

For being a friend to so many others,

For all this and more,

Thank you. You will never be forgotten.










Louis' Obituary