My cousin died this past week.
Her sister Carol said “It may comfort you to know that I told Lisa (while she was in a coma), that she's going to a peaceful and loving place, and that Uncle Manny would be there to guide her and they can reconnect while he tells her stories of Thule”.
This IS strangely comforting. Agnostics don’t know these things but we hope they are true. To picture my dad regaling Lisa with stories of Eskimos is the kind of heaven I hope for. LOL, it may not be Lisa’s idea of a good time though!
The family said “Flowers are gratefully accepted (any live plants will be re-used to plant garden in Lisa’s name), as are donations in Lisa’s name to: The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund”.
Plants work for me but not recycled houseplants sent by florists. I want to plant a witch hazel tree and surround it with snowdrop bulbs. They were in bloom when Lisa died and will bloom again, year after year, at about this time. There will be days when the petals are tightly coiled on the witch hazel and days when they unfurl. There will be warm days when one can smell the blossoms and cold days when the scent is missing. Early spring blooms last a nice long time. Eventually the snowdrops will be thick enough that to bring in small bouquets without missing the blooms outside.
http://www.naturework.com/Articles/febflowers.html
http://magazines.ivillage.com/countryliving/garden/your/articles/0,,284660_294156-1,00.html
http://www.ceinfo.unh.edu/counties/hillsborough/Whazel.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_profiles/witch_hazel/witch_hazel2.shtml
http://www.courier-journal.com/features/2001/03/feature20010308.html