A colleague from Vancouver once told me after his own mom's passing that one isn't ever ready to be an orphan. He was 65. I am not a real orphan yet, but I tend to agree with him.
To loose a parent is not an easy passage. It is a passage to a new state of adulthood, a few step away from the deep connections we have with childhood, with our first experiences in life, with the unconditional caring and nurturing of a parent, with a certain sense of safety. It is a new venture in a world that might appear a bit harsher and colder now.
I could spend here pages and pages telling you how amazing my mom was. An artist at heart, a caring and deeply involved mom, a engaged teacher, passionate about child development and kids, and a devoted friend. I miss her tremendously.
The day of her funerals, a friend of the family and colleague of hers came to us with one of my mom's she just had found. It was published a few years ago, as the opening piece of a collection of work by her young students. It came to me as a gift, displaying all of my mom's generosity and wisdom. I loved it so much I read it at her obsequies.
She is certainly holding my hand through this passage.
Je t’offre
Je t’offre la beauté d’un premier matin du monde
Le sourire radieux d’un enfant
La douceur d’une main aimante
L’écoute d’une oreille attentive.
Je t’offre la paix qui habite le cœur de l’homme qui croit
La lumière qui brille dans le regard des amoureux
Des chemins qui marchent vers l’espérance
La liberté des grands espaces qui t’appellent
La puissance des fleuves qui transportent ta foi
Des océans de tendresse pour bercer tes chagrins
Des univers où dansent l’amour et l’amitié.
Je t’offre des perles de joie
Des jardins parfumés de sagesse
La douce légèreté de l’être.
Je t’offre les clés du bonheur
Elles sont blotties au creux de ton cœur.
Aline Plourde (1947-2011)
I am offering you
(free translation)
I am offering you the beauty of a world’s first morning
The radiant smile of a child
The softness of a loving hand
The care of an attentive ear.
I am offering you the peace inhabiting the heart of the man who believes
The light that shines in the gaze of lovers
The pathways that lead towards hope
The liberty of the great spaces that is calling you
The rivers’ strength is carrying faith
Oceans of tenderness to cradle your sorrow
Universes were love and friendship are dancing.
I am offering you pearls of joy
Gardens perfumed by wisdom
The sweet lightness of being.
I am offering you the keys of happiness
They are nestling deep inside your heart.
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