Celebration of Life Service for Ethel Beun & my Speech for Mom

Ethel Beun's Celebration of Life Service was held on
Saturday, December 13, at 1:00 pm at the Arlington Metaphysical Chapel.

The family would like to thank all those at the Chapel, choir, and readers that all made the service so special in particular Rev. Reed Brown. Additional thanks to Ronnie who hosted the reception at her home.

Donations
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so to one of the following charities in Ethel's name to (1) King Street Cats, 213 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, http://www.kingstreetcats.org/ , or to PanCan (Pancreatic Cancer group) at http://www.pancan.org/

Thank you,
Jennifer at whippetdogs@yahoo.com

This is the speech I made at my Mom's Celebration of Life -- I love you Mom...

For Mom’s Celebration of Life
************************************************

We don’t remember days, we remember moments.
I want to share some things that my Mother, Ethel, loved in life…

* She loved Black licorice
* She collected cobalt blue glass and blue was her favorite color
* She loved Maxfield Parish
* She loved Cherubs and angels and believed in the magic they bring to the world
* She Loved animals and taught my brother and I all the joy they would bring to our lives
* She loved pistachio pudding
* She made the best boxed Macaroni & cheese in the world
* She always made my brother and I homemade Halloween costumes
* In her single days she used to throw crazy drunken great parties
* She always had gorgeous Christmas trees sometimes 12 feet tall with tinsel and ornaments that she has collected for years. She always had special Santa and holiday displays on our library table at Christmas time.
* She always used the RED “You Are Special Today” plate for our birthday celebrations
* She never thought you should go out for a special occasion without lipstick
* She loved beer and port wine
* She had the most gorgeous almost wrinkle free skin
* She had a special twinkle in her turquoise pool blue eyes that I will never forget
* She loved her grandchildren dearly and her role in their lives as their ITA
* She loved her flower garden and getting her hands dirty
* She was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and get it done – whatever the project
* She always gave people a chance
* She was a teacher to many
* She liked to be understated and never showy
* She liked everything small -- small rooms, small car, small cross necklace she wore, everything small -- like she was
* She was happiest at our Sunday night dinners when we were all together
* She always found the positive in life and tried to ‘make lemonade out of lemons’
* She always taught me ‘inch by inch, life’s a synch, yard by yard, life is hard’
* She loved it when she married Jim and didn’t have to cook anymore
* She loved seeing her children grow up and marry and then have children
* She loved the Messiah at Christmas time
* She loved being involved in her Church and singing in the choir; and she loved the peace it brought to her
* She loved her walks with Jim down the paths of Old Town by the water
* She accepted people for who they were and tried to find the good in everyone
* She loved the saying, “Because Nice Matters”
* She had a love and zest for life that was unforgettable
* She never complained
* She had a special dignity and grace with which she did things
* And finally, my Mom’s devotion to my brother and I was truly extraordinary. We always absolutely, unequivocally came first. She always put our needs ahead of her own.

Mom loved this poem and asked me to share it with those she knew and loved.

Time is Too Slow for those who wait; Too swift for those that fear; Too long for those that grieve; Too short for those that rejoice; But for those that love, time is eternity.

--Henry Van Dyke

This is a story about rubber bands.
When my Grandpa wanted to remember anything, he always put a rubber band around his wrist, then switched it back and forth depending on when he had something new to remember. When my Mom was a teacher, she always needed rubber bands on her wrist so she continued to wear them long after she stopped teaching. My brother has also worn rubber bands on his wrist for years as he always finds he has a need for them. A few days prior to my Mom’s service, my daughter Eden (21 months) was in the kitchen looking toward the back door as if she was looking at someone. I went in and she had a thick rubber band around her wrist. We don’t have those types of rubber bands around the house and she has never seen us with rubber bands on her wrist. I believe this was my Mom’s way of showing she was around and to know she was there and still with us.

I want to thank all the people who have been there for my Mom these past 2 years. All the family and friends who spent time with her, encouraged her, sent cards and notes and flowers and cleaned litter boxes, helped in Unique, who left messages and emails, and so much more.

It is hard for me to believe she’s gone physically, my primary influence, friend, supporter and wisest counselor has left me physically. My Mom was such an active participant in this world. I am so grateful to have been with her in her last hours. People choose who are with them when they pass. This was my Mothers greatest and final gift to me, to be with her when she passed into her new and everlasting life. My Mom had an enormous heart filled with passion, compassion, and empathy. It’s not surprising that in the end, her heart was still beating when her body had shut down, because it was her heart that drove her every act throughout her life.

Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” IF, by the end of her life, my mother ended up touching all of your hearts -- then I ask you, what else can anyone ask for in this world, but to touch people’s hearts.

I’d like to leave you with a Cherokee expression that says,
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.