Welcome

Welcome......Welcoming.......

Over the coarse of the last three and a-half weeks, so many thoughts and memories have flooded my mind. A whirl-wind of emotions.

I tried to think of one word to describe my Mother. There are so, so many words that could be used to describe her spirit and beautiful aura. My mother was beautiful, both inside and out. She was the most nurturing and giving person I have ever met......and she inspired me to always be and do my best.

As family and friends traveled from across the oceans and across the many miles of her home in America....the word Welcoming came to mind.

As we sat at the Memorial Service given in her honour at the Hunterdon Medical Center last week,,,,,,a room filled to standing room only, and a very crowed Standing room only. From the CEO of the hospital to the staff of housekeeping....every person there knew and loved my Mothers spirit.....her Welcoming nature and ways.

Welcome. The Claudaugh door knocker on my own front door was a gift to me from my Mother....her way of transfering her Welcoming Soul to my home....a reminder that the door is always open for family and friends.

The sign above my porch door, a gift to me from my Mother, is craved with the words "Enter With a Happy Heart"...........another reminder of the Welcoming Spirit of my Mother.

My whole life was filled with family and friends in our home......everyone Welcomed.....everyone made to feel comfortable....to belong.

Friends of mine growing up, would always comment on the joy and friendship that radiated from the woman and men gathered at the kitchen table...while my Mother made tea and offered treats.

If a person had no place to go for the holidays [many of the workers my Mother knew from her daily rounds at the hospital, delivering and picking up the linen....my Mother knew and cared about every person that work at that hospital over the last 27 years]........if they had no place to go....they were Welcomed in her home or our homes. There was always room and fellowship available and offered to others.....Everyone was always WELCOMED.

At the visitation for my Mother.....many, many women came up to me and echoed the same thing.....

"Your Mother had lots of friends.....BUT she was MY BEST FRIEND"........

and I would smile, because I knew exactly what they meant.....my Mother was a dear friend to many and she was also MY BEST FRIEND too!

Yesterday I had breakfast with my Mother. I had to drop Greta off early for the PSATs and I grabbed a coffee and muffin and headed to the graveyard. It was a beautiful morning...so clear and crisp....the leaves of the trees in full color. It was comforting to sit there in the early morning........a place that may seem sad to others, but to me....it is one of the most WELCOMING places, as my Mother is laid to rest there.....and she was the most WELCOMING person I have ever known.

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