Saying Goodbye....

In the past year my children have been introduced to death... There are many things I can protect my children from but death is something I cannot. As Christians we know that death is a part of life and that it is the beginning of our journey into Heaven.. but it is still sad for the ones left on Earth to miss them...
Death came into our lives last Summer when my dad died... My dad had been suffering from cancer and heart disease and his poor body could no longer take it... This is the first person my kids knew up close and personal...they attended his funeral with dignity and grace... My oldest and most sensitive daughter wrote Grandpa a special note..she said it was between him and her....she laid it on the flowers on top of the coffin...after the graveside service and everyone left, I stayed behind to make sure that my dad was taken care of... A funeral worker saw the note and knew where it had come from. She asked me if I would like the note to be in the coffin with dad - I said that would be nice. She discreetly opened the casket and slid the note in... I thought that was very thoughtful of her....
Shortly after dad passed, two other close friends passed away... It seems it always comes in threes... My daughters knew these people well also...again my kids would attend a funeral...again my kids met death up close and personal... again they grieved.
Today death greeted me again.. A woman who I have known and loved my entire life.. It had been several years since I had seen Maria...but she has always been in my heart.. life goes by so fast when you are raising your own family and before you know it twenty years have gone by...and you ask yourself..where did they go? Maria came back into my life last July. When my dad was on his deathbed, I called her and her husband Carlos...they dropped what they were doing and jumped on a plane and arrived by my dad's bedside just in time. They were there to grieve with us and to love us. I don't think Maria knew her time was nearing also... none of us did. She is a lady with much beauty and grace raising five loving and successful sons along with her husband, Carlos. Now their family of seven has multiplied by many...wives and grandchildren... many souls for her to love.
Last time I saw Maria was a couple of weeks ago at the hospital she saw me and held her hand out and said "come here, my baby... I love you" She was too weak at the time to visit long... I kissed her on the check and told her I loved her and I would see her soon...
Goodbye, Maria....You are my love and my heart..you always have been and always will be...and when you see dad tell him hi for me..