Excerpt from "VALLEY LIVING"

Jerry

by Charmian

I look out at (or through) my patio window as I type and see the lovely blend of brown and gold in every leaf! This isn't just because the weather is changing, but that my world has changed, with the loss of my son Jerry. I marvel at the many folks I have talked with who have lost a son or daughter, and what do they do?

As my mother said when my sister older than I had passed away in her 30s, "You just go on!" and I think that is a very sensible sentence, for indeed we do have to go on. We cannot pin the leaves back on the tree in my patio, nor can we move time backwards, and the only consolation with that is that after winter there is spring!

As I said from the stage at the last Variety Show last spring, "I love everybody in this community! I love living where everyone knows everyone else, and they make allowances for mistakes, and when the shadow of death falls on a loved one they surround the sorrowing with the warmth of generosity and caring, holding those who mourn close to their hearts. Even when they are not living here they send cards, as does the local community. You cannot hold grief and sorrow, for if you are busy holding that you have no hands to give, no hands to hold, except the outpouring of your hearts to one another.

May God bless all the friends living here, and may we all be there for anyone who needs us.

After Jerry's services last week, many folks have asked for a copy of a poem I had written a few days before. So here it is!

Jerry

Each baby is a miracle
  They seem so full of Joy.
We had a boy and then a girl
  and then another boy.

A little boy so full of fun
  His chuckle a delight.
He tried to catch the sunshine
  Through a window full of light.

He grew to stand, and walked along
  by holding to a wall.
He learned to talk, to run, to laugh,
  He grew up strong and tall.

He made his special place to play
  in all the out of doors.
His steps I guided, and God said,
  "Today, this boy is yours."

He always brought me presents
  with the little jobs he earned.
He was so giving, a happy smile
  how quickly things he learned!

His brother was a special guy
  His sister was a friend.
And so the three of them all grew
  and made a happy blend.

He was a young man, and finished school
  and earned a college degree
He had a joyous way with him
  in his community.

His work in later years became
  a challenge to troubled youth
He taught them how to learn and live
  Along the paths of Truth.

He and his sweet wife Barbara,
  they made a happy two.
So weeks and months and years went by
  It seems that Time just flew.

Then illness came and my brave son
  faced grim reality.
He made the best of every day
  for folks and friends to see.

And then one day he said "Good-bye."
  Perhaps he heard a call.
He clasped his loved ones to his heart
  and kissed them, one and all.

How proud I am of you, dear Son,
  Who as the days went by,
Have shared such love and such support
  and showed us how to die.

And some day when my time has come
  to reach the Promised Land
Dear Son, be waiting for me there
  and smile, and hold my hand.