Today would have been my mums 76th birthday. Her last birthday on this earth was on November 8th 2009 just 3 days after she was diagnosed with terminal small cell lung cancer. Mum passed away on October 14th 2010 and so, last year, her birthday was a very sad day for me and I'm not sure I even got out of bed.
Today I learned that our sweet wee Charly earned her pink glittery angel wings. Mum was diagnosed just weeks before Charly and would ask me every day how she was doing. She continued to ask about Charly even when she experienced terrible confusion due to low sodium and wasn't always sure who I was! The last time mum asked me about Charly was just 3 days before she passed away. She was sleeping a lot by this point but when she woke would say 'have you heard how wee Charly is?'
Charly will always hold a special place in my heart, as will Anna, Keith and Jack, and now every year when I light a candle for mums birthday I will also light one for Charly. Tonight I am lighting this candle for both of them.
I feel sure my mum will have witnessed the most beautiful angel, with pink glittery wings, arriving in Heaven late last night. Here is a story someone posted on Mac some time ago that I thought was beautiful. I have used a wee bit of poetic license but the message remains intact.
The Lily Pad Story
Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. She lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond surrounded and loved by family and friends. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. The little beetle knew when this happened; her friend was dead; gone forever.
Then, one day, the little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, she was determined that she would not leave forever. She would come back and tell her family and friends what she had found at the top. When she reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, she was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that she decided she must take a nap. As she slept, her body changed, and when she woke up, she had turned into a beautiful butterfly with pink glittery wings and a slender body designed for flying.
So, fly she did! And, as she soared she saw the beauty of a whole new world. Then she remembered her family and friends and knew they would be thinking by now that she was dead. She wanted to go back to tell them all that she was now more alive than she had ever been before. Her life had been fulfilled rather than ended but her new body would not go down into the water. She could not get back to tell her family and friends the good news. Then she understood; their time would come; they too would know what she now knew and they would meet again. So, she raised her wings and flew off into her joyous new life!
Love and hugs to who all who need them. XX
