It is said that we stand upon a narrow precipice between the vast abys of past and future, between all that has been and all that is yet to be. A small sliver in the vastness of time is all that we are granted. What we do with that small sliver of time, our life, is sort of up to us, sort of up to chance.

My Grandma Rose’s sliver of time recently passed, released from bodily constraints and turned over wholly to memory on August 2nd, 2017. Her physical existence here in this time, this place, this life, may be no more, but it is far from gone, for it lives on amongst us. It lives on amongst those that she so unselfishly shared her time with. Those that were fortunate enough to share in her life go on, and will go on, and on, for many generations to come. For the love that that one beautiful woman encompassed can’t be contained in one lifetime. One lifetime is not enough for all that she was.

Who was she? She was a grandma, she was a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a friend…many things to many people. Many things done well, many things done better than seems possible. Done with the utmost of grace, done with a quiet peaceful strength that seems beyond the capabilities of a single being.

Grace, defined as “simple elegance or refined movement”, that was my Grandma Rose. Never hurried, never needy, but always needed, and always there when needed. Needed for her quiet strength, her peace, her love. I have cried many times since she passed, many times for many reasons, but mostly for learning how much she meant to so many. I’ve cried because she is gone, but more so for the manner in which she touched so many lives. Those tears are of course of sadness, but are also of overwhelming pride and happiness for the life that she lived, the life she gave to each of us, a life well lived.

Her life was a life of service, a life of giving…always giving…never asking for anything for herself. “What do you wish for” is what she would always ask when you were in need, and whatever it was you wished for she would provide without question. She provided nourishment with her perfectly prepared meals, she provided love, support, and encouragement through listening with a wide open heart, and a kind gentle smile that always made you feel as though everything was going to be alright.

I guess “selfless” is the word, if a simple word would do, but a simple word can’t encompass all that Grandma Rose was. I have written of her many times, simply because she touched my life in so many ways. Touched…and touched…and touched with the quiet serenity of someone that isn’t trying to try, but merely is able to do because of who they truly are.

Who she was is beautiful. Beautiful, pure, authentic, unflinching love. A love that never questioned, never judged, just loved, just listened, just smiled, just made each and every one of us feel as though we were the center of her life. Always in the moment, always present, seemingly never wanting anything to be other than it was at that very time and place. The Latin phrase for such a way of moving through life is, “amor fati” or “love of fate”. She seemed to take great delight in her fate.

There is so much to say of this wonderful woman that managed to say so much with so few words? What would you tell her if given a second more of her time? For she would give it to you without question. I would simply say, “I love you Grandma…we’ll take it from here…we’re going to be alright…we’ll be careful…we’ll try to be nice…we’ll carry you in our hearts forever more.”

Thank you Grandma Rose…thank you. I promise to pay it forward, I promise to strive to be a bit more like you. Like you…not you, for the Rose you were was a very rare bloom, but we can try, and simply by trying we can make the world a bit more worthy of a person like you.

Grandma Rose…a life well lived.