I Miss You Already

"A joyful heart is like a sunshine of God's love, the hope of eternal happiness, a burning flame of God . . . And if we pray, we will become that sunshine of God's love--in our own home, the place where we live, and in the world at large."--Mother Theresa

This is my friend, Bernice Fifer. She and I worked at the same flower shop in Ohio. She was a floral designer from way back--by the time she'd come to our shop, she'd already retired from another, and worked with us and another florist part-time. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and was in a water ballet troupe while in her teens. She learned to drive on the backroads of rural Ohio--her husband, Darl, lay across the hood of their big old 40's sedan on his stomach, shotgun at the ready, for when the noise of the car would scare pheasants, rabbits, or wild turkeys out of the underbrush. She had a wicked sense of humor and kept us all laughing, even on those long exhausting days and nights at the shop right before Christmas or Valentine's Day. Her faith helped her survive cancer. She eventually had to stop working to take care of her beloved Darl full-time. I feel bad that I don't know when he passed away. She and I lost touch after I moved across the country. I just happened to look at the Akron paper online the other day, and saw her obituary (it became a habit, working for a florist, to check the obits every day; funerals would keep us afloat during the lean times).

How I wish I could have gone back for her calling hours, to talk to her children and let them know what she meant to me and how much she taught me about everything. I would have been one among many, this I know. I pray the others brought them comfort.

It's raining in LA right now, but I know that when the sun comes back out, Bernice is going to be right there, shining down on us all, because I know she has always been the sunshine of God's love.