9.26.11

AYNSLEY:
I woke up early this morning to the sound of rain slapping the roof, trees and ground. Drifting in and out of sleep, in and out of tears, listening to the rain, to Gary in the shower, to the house settling, to nothing at all. No one in the house is sleeping well. No one in the house is sure of what to do, of how to behave. At any given time, someone is shaking their head in disbelief, not fully comprehending.

I think it's going to take a long time for reality to sink in.

I don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow. I have already heard from a number of people who are planning to attend, ghosts from my past, from throughout Mom's life, people who's names I've seen in high school yearbooks from the '70's, who's stories have been knitted into my stories, who've sent emails to me and mom throughout this year. And people I've never heard of, the people who Mom touched inadvertently, without her realizing it. How will I face all of those faces? I can't possibly hold their grief when I'm barely holding my own. But I know it's important to all those in attendance that they be there, that they have a time and space to grieve and remember. And maybe somehow I'll be able to draw strength from their presence. There must be something to mourning en masse; this is a human custom and must serve a purpose.

As a reminder, please consider carpooling tomorrow. Parking will be extremely limited. Service details below:

Tuesday, September 27th 1pm

at

Temple B'nai Torah.

15727 NE 4th Street Bellevue, WA 98008

Lunch to follow

If you cannot attend the service, but are interested in sending something to commemorate Mom's life, please consider making a contribution to one of the following organizations:

Solomike Early Childhood Center
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
Temple B'nai Torah, Solomike ECC
15727 NE 4th Street
Bellevue WA 98008

Metropolitan Seattle Sickle Cell Task Force
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
Metropolitan Seattle Sickle Cell Task Force
P.O. Box 20194
Seattle, WA 98102

Mom's Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Group:
This is a group that meets once a month with a rotating host. The host chooses a charity that they'd like to support and presents their information to the entire group, educating them on what the charity does, how their money will help them and why they chose them. The group then makes an anonymous donation to that charity.
To donate, please mail your contribution to:
RAK c/o Eileen Putter
14011 SE 49th PL
Bellevue WA 98006