Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

May She Rest In Peace



May the road rise up
To meet you.
May the wind be always
At your back.
May the sun shine warm
Upon your face.
May the rain fall soft
Upon your field,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
~Celtic blessing, author unknown

On Tuesday, June 3rd, surrounded by her family, my beloved Aunt Betty peacefully left her earthly bounds in Kilcondy, Crookstown, Ireland. She was 59, and my dear Mothers precious sister.

When my Mother passed away a year and a half ago, Betty was here for all of us. I feel so horrible that I can not be there, as my passport has yet to arrive.

But I do believe that my Mother was there for Betty and here is why.

On Tuesday morning just as I was leaving to take Otto to school the phone rang. I was my sister Patti telling me that Betty was not doing well [she had been diagnosed with lung cancer last winter].....my heart paused. I told Patti that I would call her back as soon as I got back.

Katrina and Emma Sage were still sleeping when we left.

After dropping Otto off, I ran a few errands and while driving realized that I had a deer tick embedded under my arm, up towards my arm pit. 'Darn it' I thought, 'I better not get Lymes disease again' and realized that I better tend to the bugger as soon as I got home.

When I arrived home, both Katrina and Emma Sage were still sleeping [have I ever mentioned that my children are great sleepers!]

I pick up the phone to see a message from Patti....I listen and start to cry.

I begin sobbing.....as this whole news of my Aunt having lung cancer and a tumor in the exact same place as my Mother had has shaken me to the core.

I realize that that darn tick is still feasting away on my blood [and I refuse to get Lymes again!] I go to the bathroom to remove it [and calm myself down] before I call my sister back.

As I'm crying in the bathroom, putting peroxide and rubbing alcohol on the tick and bit and trying to figure out how to use the tweezers with my left hand and being able to grasp and remove the whole thing [as to not leave the head as that is not good] and Emma Sage walks into the bathroom. She goes to the potty and while looking at me in my tick removal process she realizes I am crying.

"Relax and breath" she says to me.

I try to calm my tears and tell her that I'm OK, I'm just upset at the tick.

She then looks at me and says

"It is OK Mommy, Nana is there"

Startled, I look at her [I've grasped the tick] and start dousing the area with rubbing alcohol and say....

"Where is Nana?"

Emma Sage continues........"She is with Betty"

I am completely taken back by her comment and go to give her a big hug.

I then go call my sister back to tell her what Emma Sage said and in the middle of our call she gets another call and puts me on hold.

After a bit, my sister gets back on and is crying deeply.....I know from those tears what she is about to tell me. Our beloved Aunt Betty had died about 15 minutes earlier

Uncle Sean had told Patti that at the very end she was talking to 'Philly' and 'Grandma Linehan'.......

and I belive they both were there, talking to her and easing her journey home.


Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam ~ May She Rest in Peace


The sisters, Paula, Philly and Betty


Going for a carriage ride....Betty and my Mom [Philly] are in the back right.


The Linehan clan

and this picture I cherish, as this IS the picture I had of my Aunt Betty and her family to visualize when my Mother would talk about her sister

you see, I never met my Aunt Betty till I was grown and a Mother myself. This picture was one of the few pictures my Mother had from Ireland and she would take it out and look at it and tell me stories about her growing up with Betty. Even though the miles kept these sisters apart, their hearts and souls were always connected.

and the gift my Emma Sage gave me yesterday morning by reassuring her crying Momma that everything was OK, that Nana was there, makes the hurt a little less painful....as I know that both my Mother and her sister are together.