In 1962 at age 4 I met "Pat" she was to be our next door neighbor and my very dear friend for the rest of her life. I spent my childhood at her house, It must have made her crazy. She never let me know it. She had been a teacher back in Nebraska prior to moving to Kansas. She was a great cook. I remember going to her house and watching "The Edge of Night" on her T.V. while she was cooking or decorating cakes. She made the best popcorn. After years of trying to figure out how, I have come close. I remember when she found out she was to going to be a mother for the first time. She had 3 children in all, 2 boys and 1 girl. I think that is all she ever wanted to be, a wife and a mother. She would sweep the garage so to this day that is what I do.(and I think of her) It was Pat who I would take my boyfriends to, and she would let my mom know what she thought. She was smart. As I got older (17) I knew she had cancer but was not told much. For some reason I went to the hospital when I did not even know she was there (a voice inside me said "go see Pat") I just went to the hospital..like someone else was in charge. I saw her, hugged her. I remember she said "I love you Jenny" and at that time I still thought she would be fine. I never thought she would die. But she did, the next morning. I think of her every day. I miss her. I really think God put a bug in my ear to let me know he was going to call her home.
If anyone should have lived it should have been Pat. She had so much love to give and she gave it. When she died, I realzed I never had to be afraid to die. She would be up in Heaven too.
I miss her very much.
When we are dead and people weep for us and grieve,
Let it be because we touched their lives in a special way.
Let it not be said that life was good to us but rather
we were good to life.
We should not measure life by its length but by the
value it gave.
Lives that have been intimately intertwined,
can not possibly be separated without pain.
It is a miracle, nothing less than a miracle,
That flowers bloom every spring,
That living thing begets living thing
That we human beings immerge again and again
From ignorance to knowledge from hopelessness to
learning From sadness to joy.
It is a miracle nothing less than a miracle.
They are not dead, those who leave us this heritage of
remembered joy
They still live in our hearts in the happiness we knew,
In the dreams that we shared.
They still breathe in the lingering fragrance,
Windblown by their favourite flowers.
They still smile in the moonlight silver
And laugh in the sunlight sparkling gold
They still speak in the echoes of words we have heard
them say again and again.
They still dance in the rhythm of the grass and dance
in the branches of the trees They are not dead,
their memory is warm in our hearts,
comfort in our sorrow.
They are not apart from us but a part of us.
For love is eternal and those we love shall be with us
for all Eternity.
From the reading by Robyn Lenehan - Civil Celebrant
(NSW Australia)
If anyone should have lived it should have been Pat. She had so much love to give and she gave it. When she died, I realzed I never had to be afraid to die. She would be up in Heaven too.
I miss her very much.
When we are dead and people weep for us and grieve,
Let it be because we touched their lives in a special way.
Let it not be said that life was good to us but rather
we were good to life.
We should not measure life by its length but by the
value it gave.
Lives that have been intimately intertwined,
can not possibly be separated without pain.
It is a miracle, nothing less than a miracle,
That flowers bloom every spring,
That living thing begets living thing
That we human beings immerge again and again
From ignorance to knowledge from hopelessness to
learning From sadness to joy.
It is a miracle nothing less than a miracle.
They are not dead, those who leave us this heritage of
remembered joy
They still live in our hearts in the happiness we knew,
In the dreams that we shared.
They still breathe in the lingering fragrance,
Windblown by their favourite flowers.
They still smile in the moonlight silver
And laugh in the sunlight sparkling gold
They still speak in the echoes of words we have heard
them say again and again.
They still dance in the rhythm of the grass and dance
in the branches of the trees They are not dead,
their memory is warm in our hearts,
comfort in our sorrow.
They are not apart from us but a part of us.
For love is eternal and those we love shall be with us
for all Eternity.
From the reading by Robyn Lenehan - Civil Celebrant
(NSW Australia)
In 1962 at age 4 I met "Pat" she was to be our next door neighbor and my very dear friend for the rest of her life. I spent my childhood at her house, It must have made her crazy. She never let me know it. She had been a teacher back in Nebraska prior to moving to Kansas. She was a great cook. I remember going to her house and watching "The Edge of Night" on her T.V. while she was cooking or decorating cakes. She made the best popcorn. After years of trying to figure out how, I have come close. I remember when she found out she was to going to be a mother for the first time. She had 3 children in all, 2 boys and 1 girl. I think that is all she ever wanted to be, a wife and a mother. She would sweep the garage so to this day that is what I do.(and I think of her) It was Pat who I would take my boyfriends to, and she would let my mom know what she thought. She was smart. As I got older (17) I knew she had cancer but was not told much. For some reason I went to the hospital when I did not even know she was there (a voice inside me said "go see Pat") I just went to the hospital..like someone else was in charge. I saw her, hugged her. I remember she said "I love you Jenny" and at that time I still thought she would be fine. I never thought she would die. But she did, the next morning. I think of her every day. I miss her. I really think God put a bug in my ear to let me know he was going to call her home.
If anyone should have lived it should have been Pat. She had so much love to give and she gave it. When she died, I realzed I never had to be afraid to die. She would be up in Heaven too.
I miss her very much.
When we are dead and people weep for us and grieve,
Let it be because we touched their lives in a special way.
Let it not be said that life was good to us but rather
we were good to life.
We should not measure life by its length but by the
value it gave.
Lives that have been intimately intertwined,
can not possibly be separated without pain.
It is a miracle, nothing less than a miracle,
That flowers bloom every spring,
That living thing begets living thing
That we human beings immerge again and again
From ignorance to knowledge from hopelessness to
learning From sadness to joy.
It is a miracle nothing less than a miracle.
They are not dead, those who leave us this heritage of
remembered joy
They still live in our hearts in the happiness we knew,
In the dreams that we shared.
They still breathe in the lingering fragrance,
Windblown by their favourite flowers.
They still smile in the moonlight silver
And laugh in the sunlight sparkling gold
They still speak in the echoes of words we have heard
them say again and again.
They still dance in the rhythm of the grass and dance
in the branches of the trees They are not dead,
their memory is warm in our hearts,
comfort in our sorrow.
They are not apart from us but a part of us.
For love is eternal and those we love shall be with us
for all Eternity.
From the reading by Robyn Lenehan - Civil Celebrant
(NSW Australia)
If anyone should have lived it should have been Pat. She had so much love to give and she gave it. When she died, I realzed I never had to be afraid to die. She would be up in Heaven too.
I miss her very much.
When we are dead and people weep for us and grieve,
Let it be because we touched their lives in a special way.
Let it not be said that life was good to us but rather
we were good to life.
We should not measure life by its length but by the
value it gave.
Lives that have been intimately intertwined,
can not possibly be separated without pain.
It is a miracle, nothing less than a miracle,
That flowers bloom every spring,
That living thing begets living thing
That we human beings immerge again and again
From ignorance to knowledge from hopelessness to
learning From sadness to joy.
It is a miracle nothing less than a miracle.
They are not dead, those who leave us this heritage of
remembered joy
They still live in our hearts in the happiness we knew,
In the dreams that we shared.
They still breathe in the lingering fragrance,
Windblown by their favourite flowers.
They still smile in the moonlight silver
And laugh in the sunlight sparkling gold
They still speak in the echoes of words we have heard
them say again and again.
They still dance in the rhythm of the grass and dance
in the branches of the trees They are not dead,
their memory is warm in our hearts,
comfort in our sorrow.
They are not apart from us but a part of us.
For love is eternal and those we love shall be with us
for all Eternity.
From the reading by Robyn Lenehan - Civil Celebrant
(NSW Australia)
