Final Goodbyes

(A friend gave me this photo tonight which I'd never seen before. What a beautiful gift that I will cherish. She and I were apparently upper-gum smiley partners!)

I had ample opportunities to say goodbye to my friend. I visited her during one of her last hospital stays, saw her twice at her mom's home, and three times at the hospice house. But for some reason, I still feel that it has yet to sink in, that I need some closure which the funeral will hopefully bring. The past few days/weeks I've been doing and doing...keeping busy is what I tend to do to deal with stress.

Today my friends and I spent nearly 7 hours creating a scrapbook for Kelly's boys. It was fun putting the pictures together and spending time with my friends while the 15 kids ran wild around our house and backyard! But it wasn't until the last friend was starting to leave, that things started to hit me. Kelly is gone and we're going to be saying our forever goodbyes to her, and possibly her boys, tomorrow and Thursday.

Tomorrow will be the Vigil and Rosary and Thursday morning a Memorial Mass and Burial. The traditions of our Catholic faith are familiar and healing. There is a sort of peace that comes with these beautiful, ancient rites of our Church. I hope it will be a healing celebration for all of us, especially her family.

I ask of you, dear readers, to please pray for all of us who mourn the passing of this young mother. For her two precious sons, who are dear to us and part of our homeschool family, and now prepare to move far away with their father. And for her extended family, that Christ would continue to heal hearts and draw souls closer to Himself through his beautiful daughter Kelly Ann. We miss her so much.

Thank you.