Thank you so much for being the best mother a daughter can ask for. I could not image finishing school while raising and supporting a daughter at this age, but you were able to do so and more. Taking on the responsibility of raising a daughter is a daunting task, but although everything wasn't perfect you did a wonderful job. I greatly appreciate the sacrifices you have made for my sister and I. You showed great strength through the years, being supportive and taking care of us and everyone around you. Thank you so much for being my support when times were tough, I know I'm hard on myself, but I want to make you proud. Thank you for being an inspiration, I could not have done this without your love and support, I owe my success to you. I greatly
It is hard to give a eulogy for one’s parent. More than the death of a classmate or sibling, the death of a parent is not only a loss, but also a reminder that we are all following an inevitable path. We are all “Outrunning Our Shadow” as her friend Fred Hill so provocatively titled his book.
I stand before you today to pay my last respects, and to say my final goodbyes, to my father Harry.
I'd like to talk today about my grandmother, Ruth Smith - about who she was, what she meant to us, and what this day means.
There is an old Yiddish proverb, when the heart is full, the eyes overflow. And so it is the case when we try to sum up and honor my mother’s life.
I want to thank all of my Mother’s friends and family for being here today to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. I’m sure she would be thrilled to see all of you here and I know it would have meant the world to her.
I was sitting at my small desk in my room when I saw my dad had come home from who knows what, wearing a sad face. He came up to my room with a big red rose. Right then I knew what was going on. I never spent a lot of time with family members who I was not close with. I acknowledged their presence, but I never talked a lot to or about them.
When I think of Mary Helen Smith, also known to me as Grandma, I think of learning, laughter and love.
In A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, Hank is the pragmatic protagonist, creating multi-perspective mischief. Hank is best known for his constant lies, predictions, and mysteriousness. I find that Hank constantly finds himself in interesting situations, discluding the entire fact that he’s a time traveler. Although, the concept most definitely had its suspicions. Hank first caught himself in a life-threatening situation where he predicted a solar eclipse, and he did not get burned a stake due to his new reputation as a magician.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I noticed the lines of my face and the curve of my neck. I looked down at my hands remembering the moment I first realized that they looked like hers. Long, thin, delicate hands perfect for playing the piano or braiding cornrows. All my life I had not noticed until the day I sat at her bedside holding her hand in mine. She had told me that she was not afraid to die. We sat in silence for a long time, sometimes sharing a stare and a smile. I don't know how long I sat there, looking at her, realizing for the first time who I looked so much like. As I stood in front of the mirror, I remembered that day as I prepared for her funeral. Sarah Smith, my grandmother's going home day. My father asked me to do her eulogy. I had thought and thought of what to say. The words didn't come until the morning of her funeral. That morning I went to the lake where me, my brothers, and my sister would go swimming in the summer on weekend visits to my grandmother's. As I soaked in the sun and watched its rays dance on the waters a memory came.
It is hard for me to believe she’s gone, my primary influence, sustainer, supporter and wisest counselor has left me physically. Mother was such an active participant in this world right to her very last breath. I am so grateful to have been with her on her last day. At his point she was struggling to form words and get them out, but her mind was alert, caring and compassionate. She was still worried about me, a mother to the end.
My grandmother was a strong woman. No matter how strained my families’ relationship could be at times, I loved her unconditionally. She was the woman who would buy me gallons of ice cream and soda frustrating my mother to no end. Whenever I spent the night she would let me stay up as late as I wanted watching TV. Crossing the street to my grandparents’ house was a daily event, which I looked forward to every morning I woke up.
Good afternoon, let me just start by saying that the kindness, support, friendship, and love extended to me and my family during this difficult time has really touched my heart- we are sincerely appreciative!
I believe that every person in, in their own unique way, creates a legacy in their lifetime by which others can live long after that person has left us. For those of us who remain, Mildred Johnson has truly created a legacy to uphold and fulfill in our daily lives. I firmly believe that this carrying out is a true honor and responsibility by means of the various facets that Mildred has made her own.
It was odd for the first in my life my grandmother and grandfather acted like they had wanted me to be apart of the family and I couldn't help feeling then and now that if they acted like that before I might have been sad that I was leaving them. I was allowed to pick whatever we ate, my grandmother brought the most expensive dress she could find for me wear to go into the water and my cousins made the effort to talk to me that week whenever my aunt Sandy and uncle John brought them to the house. The night before I was due to bathe in the water my aunt Sandy and I walked through the fields near the house. "Promise me Emily you won't throw everything away like April did" aunt Sandy said, I tried to walk in sync with her. "
“I can't believe it! Am I seeing this right? I am so excited and grateful to God for his favor and direction in my life. I have to call my Mom to share this great news. Oh man, she’s still at work.