For Barbara

[bethofalltrades]

It is hard to sum up a person with something as limited as words. If only I could give you a feeling, hand it to you across the table and say, "This. This is what she was like," and you would nod your head and understand.

On Thursday, a woman died.

Comments

[spacedlaw]

Such an amazing woman. I can see how influential she has been in your life. I am sorry for your loss and for the fact that we always seems to lose people we love way too soon.
Hugs.

[coraline73]

I'm so sorry for your loss. From what you write, it comes over so strongly how much she means to you. She sounds like a wonderful person.
I hope that you have sent Eileen a copy of this post; sharing that love and those happy memories.

[anonymous]

There is one woman who I met that was the first in my 24 years of life to openly recognize me as an artist. I've always felt that way but had never been recognized for it. I write, I sing (sheepishly at most times), I take things apart and make them into other things, I play half a dozen different instruments, I bend and break and glue and sew and concoct a million threads all sewn together that people will never see until I let them. Every time I show her a piece that I'm working on she encourages me, every time I talk to her about a new concept she both grounds me with the reality of where I'm going and cheers me on at the same time. I struggled over the summer of 2009 fighting with my self over my personal issues and saught a mentor to help and when I felt like I had failed in finding one I spent one night with this woman and realized that I hadn't needed to look in the first place, I already had one

Part 2 of previous post.

[anonymous]

The other person I just mentioned, Laura, was a safe haven in a turbulent and stormy childhood. Both of my parents were... not so well prepared or knowledgeable... when it came to raising a child and from comments made by others as I grew it was obvious. I was once told by the family physician that she clearly saw that "I was raising my parents" (Also when I turned out to have severe depression in high school this same physician told me "Oh don't worry 3 more years is nothing, then you can move far far away from your parents".) When I went to Laura's house I knew I was safe - I would not be blamed, I would not have to fear for my safety or my mothers from her psycho husband who liked to shoot off his shot gun in the front yard when he was angry at my mother, I would not be yelled at (my mother literally screamed at me for dropping my hat once), back handed, told I was bad or wrong or too ugly or too fat. I knew that I could simply climb up on the couch and curl up watching cartoons and not worry about anything. I could be you know, a

Part 3.

[anonymous]

I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this is... Maybe Barbara will let you know through another way. It sounds like she loved and supported you in the ways I have gained love and support through Laura and Zeb and I know that if there is an afterlife and that if there is a way to communicate through it, she'll let you know and I'm sure that she'll be keeping an eye out for you.