Eulogy for a Friend

My friend, Mary Pace, made her peaceful transition on Friday morning, June 5th.

These are the words that I read at her memorial service.

Mary, I should have thanked you more often

• For those long slow walks, and frequent rest stops at Opry Mills Mall – and the time we just sat together in silence.

• For the free movie tickets and your companionship and willingness to see a movie again – that you had seen several times before.

• For accompanying me to the Big Beautiful Women Beauty Pageant and hiding your embarrassment when I hooped and hollered for the biggest, most boisterous contestant

• For your complete presence and attentive ear when I spewed out my woes and sorrows

• For your intuitive advice back then – when I didn’t feel like I could get answers on my own

• For listening to my crazy ideas

• For the smiles and most of all, for the total complete acceptance of me as I was then, and me as I am now

• For graciously accepting my “encouraging” remarks in your hospital room, when I didn’t know – that – you knew – you were leaving,

• For putting up with my nervous jokes in intensive care , when I tried to get you to smile with your eyes, knowing you could not speak

• And finally I want to thank you for your forgiveness for my staying away for so long.

I will miss you Mary.

• When I feel a wisp of wind, I will think of you

• When I hear a bird’s soft song, I will think of you

• When I feel my cat brush up against me, I will think of you

• When I encourage another person to BLOOM, I will think of you

• When someone praises me for the little things that I do, I will think of you.

• When I wonder how I will ever become enlightened, I will think of you, and ask for your assistance, one last time, in helping me along my path to my final resting place, to join you, among the angels.

• By then, you will have your feet wet, and be firmly entrenched in the presence of God. I only hope that they will let me in,

• I hope to follow in your footsteps and leave only a smidgen of the legacy of love and acceptance that you have left for me and many others.

Until we meet again Mary, I will miss you. Love and Light, and a great big Hug from me – Linda Woods and from many others.

NAMASTE!