A close friend of mine is expecting a baby any day now. Someone else I know is dying. For all our art and technology, that's it, isn't it?
T, who is now in a hospice, is not someone I am close to personally. But she has been like an adoptive mother to one of my best friends. In fact, in the 15 years I've known her, she's taken in anyone who needs a family. I remember having Thanksgiving dinner at her house once and thinking 'yes, where else would we celebrate Thanksgiving'. She has extraordinary generosity of spirit.
And here's the thing. I want to go and see her and say 'Thank you, I have been lucky to know you'. Can you say that to someone who is dying? I think I would want people to come and say that to me, but how can I know? Didn't Elisabeth Kubler-Ross famously have all these (seminal) theories on dying and then turn to bunkum spirituality when it came to her turn?
Gifts of the Season
4 days ago
1 comment:
Yes, please do go and tell that marvellous woman in the hospice that you feel fortunate to have known her. It will mean so much to her, I'm certain. I told Nana in one of her few lucid moments months before she died that I thought she'd been a wonderful mother and I loved her. I cannot stress how much quiet joy this gave her. I'd love people to tell me directly if they thought I'd made a positive difference to their lives. Do it!
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