Categories: uncategorized
Date: 25 July 2008 22:42:20
Today was Esther's funeral. At least 100 people sat in a hall decorated with lavish flowers from church members' gardens, and remembered her in tributes, songs and prayers. I cried a lot - was glad I had brought plenty of tissues. Then we went to the cemetery and committed her body to the earth and her spirit to God. I had the job of introducing that bit, and The Grouch did the 'Earth to earth, ashes to ashes' prayer. She was buried with her father Bernard who died of the same disease five years ago. On his gravestone is an engraving of a lion lying down with a lamb. I thought about how her father had been a lion for her and now his lamb is lying with him.
Afterwards people stood around in the hot sun for a long time, as if they couldn't bear to say goodbye. Then we went to the 'wake' at the Mennonite Centre, had a feast provided by everyone bringing food, and sat for a long time in their beautiful big garden. Eventually someone came out with cold beers and someone else brought the Scrabble board. It got cooler, midges started flying around, but no one wanted to leave - in fact the funeral had started at 2.00 and people didn't begin leaving the LMC till well after 9.00. I think we gave her a good send-off. She would have loved it.
Tomorrow real life begins again and I imagine that is when her loss will really hit her mother. I hope we can all be there to give her the support she will need. I have to stop now before I start crying again.