Do not mourn, rejoice, for the believer is reborn...

Loss.
Loss is hard.
Loss of a parent can be crushing.
Loss of a person who cared for you, with tenderness, leaving you with the fondest of memories etched into your soul,... that is almost a burden. It should not be.

What is sometimes hard for people is just to focus on the best of times. 
Remember the love and the laughter.  
Remember the tender moments when they touched you deeply.

If you were old enough to have such memories, consider the good fortune of that.  If, when the beloved person passed, you truly understood what it meant, then you are lucky. 

My mother could be described as a "life partner" of mine.  My father died when I was kid, so for a time it was just her and I.  We lived in the same house until I was a young adult, in my twenties.  We lived apart for three or four years, and when my "step"father died, my mom came to live at my house.  We were together again, partners in crime, for more than a decade.  Two adults, we became friends, above being mother and daughter; friends who shared so many things.  And yet, when she died I was not sad for more than a few hours. Allow me to explain:

You see, my mother was not afraid of death.  She was a believer. Her faith was strong. When she died she would go to The Lord. She loved her God, and knew that He loved her, as He loves all of his children.  

When I saw her, still in her bed, in the nursing home.... she looked serene. There was a hint of a smile at her lips.  How could I be sad?  I knew that it was like I told her: when God's angels came for her she went with them.  I had to rejoice for her! She was happy to be with God, in His heaven.  

It felt odd, in a way, to be joyous in that time. But I had signs from her,... I saw the monarch butterflies, in gardens, and I knew that she was happy in a glorious place.  I was so grateful for her strong faith, and for her release from the terrible illness that she suffered. (Alzheimer's Disease)

All these years, since her death, I have told only a handful of people that I was euphoric for months afterward.  I have come to believe that she was with me that entire time, making sure that I found the strength to carry on.... and to never forget her belief, her faith...., and that I had the good memories to carry me through.... and to always honor her wish that there be no mourning...thus the photo, near the top of this blog,..when I see that I feel her presence... she did not write it, but they are her words, her thoughts.....