Remembering Patty
She was cute, petite, small and full of life, energy and love. Everyone who comes to the house likes her. Her million dollar smile welcomes, delights and comforts all. Just moments after she passed away, my wife and I have the moment of grace to be with her sorrowful son and daughter in law by her bedside.
I recall with feelings of nostalgia and grateful reminiscence those times when I served Patty's favorite coffee in the mornings, accompanied her to walk outside, watched NBA basketball games with her and brought her to rest on her bed at night. I also remember those times when I would ask her to help me dry the dishes or fold the clothes from the laundry. Helping out was her therapy and we will always try to find something for her to do to make her happy.
Patty loves her family and was friendly and kind to all. She and her husband Ed stayed for few years in the Philippines when Ed served as a U.S. Navy officer in Subic Bay and Olongapo. I saw photos of happy memories of the Filipino friends they both came to know and have fun with during their stay there. She will always ask where Ed is and will wait for Ed to come home. She fondly remembers the day of her birth, May the 18th, 1933. She is always happy to see her son and daughter in law, her grandchildren and her brother visiting her. She loves her dog Einstein and she misses her room upstairs in the house where she last stayed.
Among the residents we took care of, Patty stands out as one to be greatly missed. My wife and I cried the moment we saw Patty's lifeless body. In our hearts were treasured experiences of taking care of her as she made her journey home to be with her husband Ed and her Maker. How short, fast and mysterious those times of being with her day by day, night after night in the residential care facility we worked for almost a year where Patty stayed till the end of her life on earth. Now, her joy is complete as she smiles from the window of heaven looking at us, who still makes our day to day journey here. My wife prayed to her for something and immediately came the effective response.
It is a night of the first moon. We went out to eat dinner at Cicero's Pizza and just before I got into the car I saw the crescent moon in the dark western horizon. The moon shines out of the first darkness of the summer evening. It is indeed a cycle of life and death. When the day of life is over and darkness prevails over the earth, the moon comes and gives a shining glow of hope, a vision of light and new life in the night just after a day has ended. I see Patty's beautiful smile in the new moon and in the silent whisper of the summer breeze I hear the echo of her loving heart and caring soul. Such a fullness of life from such an exuberant and kind person as Patty is a real rejuvenation and joy for us who came to know, love and care for her.
