Mom's funeral was really a joint effort. Everyone came together to do their part. Mom and Dad you would have been proud that we all managed to get it done as a unit
My mother was quiet, and did not like a lot of fanfare. Her favorite role was to stay in the background and ensure that everything got done and nobody got left out.
Of the three sisters she was the quietest. Erica was the adventurer …. always wanting to visit new places and try new things … Wena was what Jamaicans refer to as ‘pepper’ she wasn’t going to allow you to get away with anything. But Nez was the one who worked behind the scenes. When you needed help or someone to boost your confidence or a friendly bit of advice she was always the one ready to help. For all her quietness and reserve she was the one who Wena and Erica turned to between travels and jobs and the one who would mediate between the two.
My father ‘ran things’ or so my mother let him think. But she would stay behind the scenes and encourage him, let him think things were his idea and generally managed his life without letting him feel as if she did. .
Nez was the prayer. She prayed about everything. She prayed when Nicholas dropped off the wall and cracked his skull (Of course Nicholas’s story is that I pushed him) she prayed when we had exams, she prayed when were went out and prayed a thanksgiving prayer when we returned safe. God must have been tired of hearing her pray for Stuart … her prayers for him should have given him a straight passage to the other side
When she started getting alzymers and had to be moved into the home she maintained her personality throughout. Always pleasant to the nurses, always smiling, They all loved her because they said she was always so pleasant to them .. never nasty and spiteful.
She was the last of her family of that era and close friends to pass on. Her Father and Mother, Aunt Lyn Uncle John and Aunt Bess,Lena and Ralph, Hanka and Francis, Delroy and Yvonne, Erica, Dad, Sydley and Joan and recently Wena .. My father I’m sure was rushing her from beyond wondering why she was taking so long to join him. But she took her responsibilities seriously and did not falter in doing what she thought was right. even at the end it seemed she waited to ensure that everyone passed and the era was closing on that generation of people who she engaged with in her life … she seemed to look around and say ‘all is well’ everyone is taken care of now I too can go.
Good bye Mom .. We know Dad has been waiting for you ..say hi to all over there and know that your quiet strength is missed by us all.
