365 Days, Day 204

Death is nothing else but going home to God, the bond of love will be unbroken for all eternity (Mother Teresa)

I would say to those who mourn... look upon each day that comes as a challenge, as a test of courage. The pain will come in waves, some days worse than others, for no apparent reason. Accept the pain. Do not suppress it. Never attempt to hide grief (Daphne du Maurier)

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love (Washington Irving)

Bicé Maria Clorinda Sanvitale Nelson (9^th May 1921 – 28^th December 2010)

Today you slipped quietly, in your sleep, from us. You have been daughter, sister, friend, wife, lover, mother, aunt, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, grandmother.

Your life has been so interesting, so loving, so terrifying, so lonely, so sad, and so happy. You started in Fano, Italy where your secure world was torn apart by the violence and hatred of war; your bravery is evident in your defiance and the dedication you showed to your war-imprisoned brother, Ugo. The war: wherein you found the love of your life, Vivian. You sacrificed everything to follow your new husband back to his homeland, South Africa; so far away from your family, so alien and foreign to you, a young war-bride. How brave you were. How afraid, sad and lonely you must have been. You have a depth to your character of which we only saw glimpses.

I have learned so many things from you over the last 30 years. From your acceptance of me and my strange ways (I know you never quite “got” me, but you received me into your heart anyway) to your example of being an utterly devoted and loving wife (I cannot begin to follow in the depth of your footsteps here – I am too headstrong…?) and mother, to your love of and delight in my children: your grandchildren. Your determination in your life and your religious devotion speak of your strength of character.

And that inner strength is what I really I remember of you. My first memory of seeing you is a wiry, strong lady standing with her proud Siamese cat… So strong, yet so gentle and loving. Over the decades I have watched and learned. I have the greatest respect for you, the mother of my husband and the grandmother of my children; and I keep with me the many lessons about life I have learned from you. I say farewell Mom, with much love, I will hear you in the whispering of the wind, memories forever in my heart.

God’s finger touched [her], and [she] slept (Alfred Tennyson)