Saying Goodbye

Once in every woman's life, we loose our mother. If we are lucky, it is after a long, adventure-filled, exciting and memorable lifetime.

I am one of the lucky ones. My mother had a long life filled with beloved parents, friends, lovers, husbands, children and grandchildren. Florida was one of her favorite places on earth and she lived here for over sixty years. She was fortunate enough to have her father and mother living close to her in Florida and she lovingly cared for them in their old age until they passed.

I lost my mother in October, 2009. Her last wishes were to be cremated and placed in the family plot in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery where her mother, father, uncle, grandmother and grandfather are buried.

Last Friday, I helped my mother complete her last journey. She didn't want any memorial or service. With that I complied. After a wonderful breakfast at the Inn on Ferry Street where we were staying, my husband, Dan, my cousin, Shari and her husband John, tucked her in at Woodawn at 11:00 in the morning. From my understanding, her instructions about no service or memorial did not mean we couldn't bring flowers so my brother David sent flowers along with my mother's friend of 35 years, Rune from Sweden. My cousin and I had yellow and white roses we placed on my grandparents' graves. We took photos for those who weren't able to attend the "non-service".

There were tears, hugs and smiles. I had Dan take a photo of me behind the massive Nunemaker headstone just like the one Mom had taken of herself when she tucked my grandparents in at Woodlawn in 1990. I sent the photos from my iPhone as we drove through the cemetery on our way out. It is a beautiful, peaceful place with lots of shade provided by huge oaks, maples and other northern trees. There are monuments and mausoleums, birds, ducks, ponds, squirrels and chipmunks. The birds sing most of the time.

When we left, the sun was shining and the temperature was more like Florida than Detroit. So I guess everyone knew that my mother had arrived and brought her own personal weather with her. She was like that!

It wasn't easy but the beauty of Woodlawn made it bearable. Her final resting place is only far away from me in human miles, but she will always remain near in my heart.

Elizabeth Carol Grill
Forever Young

Friday, May 28, 2010