Goodbye, Ms. Fran

Most of you who follow Peggy's blog know by now that Ms. Fran passed away on Monday at 4:45 PM. Please go to Peggy's post here to read her account of Ms. Fran's gentle passing from death unto Life. I read a comment on Peggy's post left by S who referred to Ms. Fran's death as BITTERSWEET, which I find very fitting at this time.



Many months ago Peggy began to share Ms. Fran with us and we came to know and love her.
I looked forward to reading about her and seeing pictures of her sweet, smiling face. Peggy shared their good times together:



Even after she became ill and her body weakened, she still liked participating in the fun that Peggy could cook up:



Thank you, Peggy, for unselfishly letting us be there in Ms. Fran's last days.

As a tribute I would like to share one of my favorite poems with you. I hope you will take the
time to read and absorb what it says. We say "goodbye" to Ms. Fran for now but only for a while.

Gone From My Sight

By

Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck

of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,hull and spar as she was when she left my side.And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"

there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices

ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...