Sweet Memories

Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them.

-Anna Taylor

When my husband and I moved to a new community, the neighbors across the street from us were the first to introduce themselves.  They were the same age as my parents and we quickly became close friends.  I was pregnant with our first child at the time so they were there for us when our baby was born.  By the time our second child arrived, they had become a third set of grandparents to our children and were like a second set of parents to me.

Verlain and I became very close, especially after my mother passed away which was shortly after my first child was born.  Verlain attended a monthly book club I held at my home and we would occasionally go out for tea at a local tea room.  This was a wonderful treat for both of us, as it allowed me to have some “me” time away from the babies and time for her to chat about things going on in her life, such as her love of quilting, reading and traveling.  Verlain was a very good listener and offered tidbits of advice when she thought I was seeking it.

Unfortunately, she and her husband left our neighborhood but were still close enough for us to meet for meals and visits.  After a few years, I learned they had decided to move to a Veterans Home which is about two hours away.  Verlain needed more medical attention and not having the worries of maintaining a property was attractive to them.

I decided I wanted to be sure the months before she moved away would be extra special ones.  Every one-two weeks, I took Verlain out for lunch to our favorite tea room, near where she lived.  We became “regulars” and we even had “our table.”  We didn’t talk about her health concerns but about the kids, our families and remembering old times.

After Verlain and her husband moved, my family went to visit them.  And to this day, I will never forget the moment we left them standing and waving goodbye outside their residential building.  I felt as though I were leaving my children at college for the first time - sad and with a sinking heart. 

I continued to keep in touch with Verlain. The kids and I would occasionally drive up to meet her and her husband for lunch at a tea room which was located about the half way mark for the both of us.  But with Verlain’s health deteriorating, I knew it would only be a matter of time before these sweet moments would come to an end.

I learned Verlain had passed away after receiving an email regarding her memorial.  Although I knew she wasn’t doing well, I was still shocked. Her husband later told me the only photos she had hanging up in her room at the time of her passing were of her daughter and my two children.

Verlain’s memorial was held at the Veterans Home the following month.  My son played the bagpipes before the memorial service outside the chapel and at the Veteran’s cemetery near her grave.  Verlain loved the bagpipes so it was only fitting to have her “grandson” play Amazing Grace in her memory. Thinking of you.

One of those sweet memories: Verlain and me at a local holiday fair