Saying Goodbye

Too few years ago, I had a brief encounter with a woman at a gathering of people whose lives are consumed with all things fabric.  I had not been attending these get together's for very long, and she was a visitor from out of town who was there for just that day.  Everyone in attendance met each other through an on-line group for fabriholics and machine embroiderers.  We are an eclectic group who share the love of all things thread (and Texan!).

Later that fall, she invited a few of us to come and share her home and fellowship during the Houston Quilt Festival.  Although we didn't know her well - actually, hardly at all - we put on our Big Girl Panties and went.  After all, how else were we going to get to go to the quilt show??  We were excited, but the closer we got, the more apprehensive we became.  Looking at each other, we wondered whatever had possessed us to drive so far to spend several nights at the home of someone we didn't really know anything about.....But, she loved fabric and so did we.  We needn't have worried.  The "Green Carlton" - as her home became to be called - was opened to us for the long weekend, and she stepped right into our hearts.

She became our mother hen of sorts, and we became her brood.  She introduced us to others in her flock who, in turn, have come to occupy special places in our hearts.  She was a strong, opinionated, and out-spoken woman.  She was also giving, accepting, and a collector of people whom others might consider outcasts in some way.  She believed in the value of people, and if you didn't feel the same way - well then - too bad for you!  She enriched our lives with her love and her laughter.

We have swapped fabric and furniture.  We have been terrified by her driving skills. We have been slobbered on and gassed out by her four-footed family, (of which there could be anywhere from three to six of them keeping residence with her).  We have endured scoldings, and we have been enfolded in her arms.

Jeanne Green passed from this earth on Friday night.  I was fortunate enough to be able to say good-bye to her, and to be enfolded in her arms one last time just a week before her passing.  When I suggested that I could have just driven by and not stopped for my hug, she shook her fist at me and said, "Yeah, right!"  That was Jeanne.  Feisty to the end.

Hubby and I went to see the movie "The Descendants" this past weekend.  It reminds us that there are times for letting go, and times for holding on.  For Jeanne's sake, it was time to let go.  She was ready.  As for me, I think I will always hold on. I will hold on to the memories, and hold on to the love that she extended to me, and to the people she shared with me who were important to her and are now important to me.  Thank you, Jeanne. You made a difference in people's lives, and isn't that what it's really all about?  You will be missed.

Gratitude for:
- The love and friendship of Jeanne.
- That our last visit together was a good one.
- The love and support of friends "in the nest" with me.
- My husband, who took me to see her one last time and allowed me to stay as long as I needed.