Oh penelope.
And i cry too as I write this and think of you and lucy hugging in the street and the terrible miracle of losing a loved one in that most horrible, and yet blessed, of ways, because death comes in the wake of love, intense love, your sister surrounded by it, hand in hand with love as she took her last breath.
And then, then, this incredible flowering gift of friendship and more as a result of bearing witness to each others' grief - what an astoundingly joyous thing.
Amazing, and beautifully beautifully told.
hugs and kisses xxx
Vanessa
incredible story, incredibly beautifully told, much love, Dina
"no words can say ..."
i never,ever hope that my daughters have to go through that. it would kill me. you are, indeed, a very strong woman.
That is a phenomenal story. And I don't cry easily.
thanks everyone. What else is there to say. Except this to Zoe: I hope so too. love to all of you. GP/Penelope
I agree with Dina about the story, vey moving but I'm not convinced that coincidences are so random. Some things are just meant to be. Like you and Lucy, I am so very grateful for so many 'coincidences' that have made my life so much richer and I guess you must be too.
I think I need to read back through your archives. Beautiful story.
Can't help but think your story shows that we are all connected one way or another, that no man - or indeed woman - is an island, much as today's society and the 'me, me, me' era would like us to be.
Penelope,
You have perfectly expressed the trauma and tragic beauty of losing a loved one and you have brought back memories of my own beloved granny who sadly passed away last September. I am so glad that you still have such a strong connection to your sister through these friends and something as simple as your fig trees bearing fruit after all these years. Thank you
Thanks to more new friends. And Andy - I agree that it's more than coincidence. My daughter said yesterday; 'friendship between you two was meant'. I feel that too - I used the word 'gift' in the post quite consciously. It was a gift... my only job was to accept it. It didn't feel like work.
Penelope, what a beautiful story. I'm so glad something good came out of such tragedy.
Though I haven't sat with someone dying, I did see my father in law just after he died, and while the sense of loss was profound, it was also very beautiful and I felt incredibly privileged to be there.
Losing a twin. That sends shudders through me.
love Janex
Incredibly moving, a beautiful story - thank you for sharing it with us.
Penelope - my first comment on your blog - but I had to write after reading your incredible story, which has moved me to tears. How miraculous that out of something so heartbreaking, something so wonderful can emerge.
Greetings to all of you - and more thanks for everything you say.
So glad you wrote it and that Judith was happy that you should. Maybe you needed the sixteen years to be able to write about it in such an eloquent way. It is a beautiful, sad, strange story. All of life seems to be in it.
You do have a gift!
Penelope, with your beautiful words, you helped me to understand the pain of loss but the importance of keeping oneself emotionally open and receptive to future joy. Beautifully penned. Thank you.
I followed a link from John Baker's blog and found this wonderful post. Finding it this evening was a gift. Thank you for sharing the story of your friendship growing out of grief.
greetings old friends Lin and Pat - and welcome Cam. It means something that all this means something to you all too.xx
Pen, what an extraordinary and deeply moving story. I agree with Andy that such things are more than coincidence, more than meets the eye, appearances behind appearances. And I share with you a similar memory of those long, long, painful last breaths which I also sat close to in the last days of my beloved mother and more recently, of a dear aunt. You have described it as I felt it.
Like everyone else I too think what and how you have written is moving and beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
"Life outside it, by comparison, looks more like being plugged into something as trivial as a Gameboy; it is as remote, as cut off from you as you are cut off from it."
A precious experience, a taste of the eternal, and one somehow more real.
Neatly put by your good self. What a lovely series of coincidences or synchronous events. Your midnight inspiration to buy Lucy's house must have been thrilling.
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