Phoebe Ministries - The Garden
Phoebe Ministries - The Garden
My Mother is resting and eating and living at Phoebe Ministries. Our room is quiet and peaceful ... and the nurses and attendants we rely on for healing, are now friends. We've been there since January and now it's life as we know it.
But what do we know about aging? What do we know about losing our lives or the life of a loved one? How do sons and daughters prepare to say goodbye to their Mothers ... or Fathers? How does one cope?
Will the sting ever lessen?
And what if, for our whole lives, the threat of losing our Mom and our Dad hasn't reached us - we are carefree - ... and now ... and suddenly, our greatest fears are right before us. Isn't it strange that most of our parents have gone through this .... and go on to lead lives that have purpose and richness and happiness. How did they survive this? Did they take comfort in their loved ones? Do they suffer in silence? And what if a son or daughter doesn't have a wife or husband or children or pets ... with whom do they summon their strength ... with whom do they share their grief?
Gosh ... today was so hard.
Love your Mother and your Father.
This painting - 'Phoebe Ministries - The Garden' will be donated to Phoebe to hang in the east hall where my Mother is being loved and cared for by the nurses and attendants and her Husband and Children.
posted by PaintingEachDay at 9:51 PM
3 Comments:
Ann -
This is extraordinarily beautiful. I'm sure the staff and residents will cherish this for years to come. It will bringa sense of peace to so many lives.
You are a treasure to your family, friends and all those who love you and your talent. Thank you!
Hey Ann,
Just read your blog on the Phoebe Ministries painting. First off I just want to say that the painting itself caught my eye because the subject and style are so drastically different from your other painting-a-day paintings. I've never been to Phoebe, but the painting just evokes feelings of serenity and impressions of a beautiful classical landscape. It looks to be a lovely location.
Regarding your questions on dealing with the loss of a loved one.... everyone copes with the loss in their own way.
In the past two years I've lost two of the most important people in my life, my mother and her sister. I cope by keeping there memory alive, by sharing memories with loved ones and friends, by trying (even harder now that they are gone, I think) to live my life in a way of which I think they'd approve.
The sting eventually dulls into a steady ache but, for me, it has yet to go away. But you go on. Life still has much happiness in store for all of us, unfortunately we have to also experience the loss along the way.
Wishing you a happy 4th and hoping that you will be able to create some more precious memories to savor and share.
Nice thing to do - to give your painting to the Ministries & staff. It takes so little to bring joy to people. Good inspiration to us all!
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