The Day After...

I was just reading my blog from Tuesday, as I said 'good bye' to my sweet mother-in-law. I especially rested on the part where she didn't want a funeral because 'no one would come, anyway'. Boy, would she be surprised! At her graveside service yesterday were her children, grandchildren, her sister, my family, friends, and people from church. If the weather hadn't been so dicey, her friends from Silverton, Oregon, where Mom lived for so many years, would have been there. But we had quite the group and I can just about guarantee you that she would be amazed at the number of people in attendance! Here is the link to her obituary in the newspaper:
http://legacy.com/statesmanjournal/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=121570022

The service was so nice. We had about three inches of snow on the ground, which made for an amazingly beautiful backdrop. Mom is buried in a very lovely part of the cemetery with a huge tree nearby, something she would love. Everything went as well as it possibly could.

The part that really stuck out for me was this amazing poem that Erin, Joyce's youngest daughter, wrote. Erin has this wonderful gift of being able to express herself through poetry and other writings, and it was so heartfelt. Once I get the text, I'll post it. It was something she wrote on her way to the cemetery. What a gift!

We had a luncheon at the church afterward and it went well, also. We got a lot of family pictures, which I will also post once I get them. Then we came back here and Jay and his sisters went through a lot of Joyce's stuff. It was fun to hear them reminisce about their childhood, and also things that happened even after they became adults. Joyce tried so hard to make as many positive memories for her family as she could. All she ever wanted was for her children and grandchildren to be happy.

Now we turn our focus to Christmas. It will feel different this year, and I think *we* will feel different this year. The whole purpose of our lives here has been brought to the forefront of our minds this last week. Suddenly Christmas feels like it should: a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hopefully we have a better understanding of His mission here on this earth, His atoning sacrifice, and the promise of eternal life if we will choose to live worthy of that promise. We are grateful to a wise and loving Father in Heaven, who knows us so well, and more importantly, who knows us *individually*. That fact is made especially apparent during times like this, when we need love and comfort while grieving.

I love you all, my dear family and my dear friends. You are the gifts that I have been blessed with, and that's all I ever want at Christmas, or any other time of year, for that matter!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Good bye, Mom...

Jay's Mom, Joyce Greene, passed away suddenly on Sunday, December 14, 2008. She had just returned to Oregon from Idaho, where she had been visiting her sisters and her eldest daughter, Julie. I could go into all of the details of how it happened, but I will suffice it to say that it was quick and painless, just the way she would have wanted it. The doctors are certain that she never knew what hit her. They suspect that she died of a pulomnary embolism.

Joyce will be missed, especially during this time of year. She loved Christmas. She took great pains putting together such thoughtful Christmas gifts. She always apologized that it wasn't 'a million dollars', and we tried to convince her that what she had done by her own hands was worth so much more.

Creating beauty was always important to her. She had such a talent for decorating, creating the crafts that she loved so much, and finding beauty in the simplest things and places.

She also enjoyed imparting her wisdom to any and all. She went through a lot of unpleasantness in her life, but she always tried to see whatever 'positive' she could in those situations. One of her favorite sayings was, "This too, shall pass". It became one of her mantras. Another one of her favorite sayings was, "Live, Love, Laugh", something she tried to do every day.

Joyce and I would have these talks where we would just get silly and laugh like little girls. She always enjoyed laughing, and I loved and cherish those talks. I liked being able to make her laugh, especially when she was having a bad day.

Joyce didn't want a funeral- "no one would come, anyway", she'd say. All she wanted was a graveside service, then go back home and have a 'chocolate orgy' (her words!) and talk about all of the happy and silly things about her. We will honor her wishes, mostly because she said that she'd come back and haunt us if we didn't! lol

Mom, we are going to miss you so very much. We have a sure knowledge of where you are now, and that we will all be together again as a family, but until that day comes, you will be in our thoughts and in our hearts every day, and we will miss you. We love you so very much, Mom.