Sunday 26 February 2012

Goodbye smiley girl.......

Quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to write, but here goes:

On an unseasonably warm february morning, 80 or so of us gathered to celebrate the extraordinary life of Lisa Almond. The order of service was chosen by her children, Karys & Phoenix:


She was carried to her final resting place by Katie, Hayley, Maurice, Debsi, Phoenix and Phil - in a wicker casket decorated with evergreens, thistles, lavender and white roses, to the sound of Kite by U2.

Her younger sister, Beckie, read out the following passage by Khalil Gibran:

Let me sleep, for my soul is intoxicated with love,
And let me rest, for my spirit has had its bounty of days and nights,
Talk not of my departure with sighs in your hearts;
Close your eyes and you will see me with you forever more.
Carry me upon your friendly shoulders and walk slowly to the deserted forest.
Cover me with soft earth and let each handful be mixed with seeds of jasmine and lilies,
And when they grow above, they will breathe the fragrance of my heart into space,
And reveal even to the sun the secret of my peace.

This was followed by tributes from her dear friends: Maurice Lane & Deborah Puxty Ward,
and the song "Wherever you will go" sung by Charlene Soraia

Further tributes from Hayley Gilks and Katie Withers were followed by the commital by the funeral celebrant Nicola Dela-Croix, ending with "Love Cats" by The Cure

Lisa wrote some final words to be read out:

I may not have had the easiest life, but nothing worth having is easy. And I got the best, my two beautiful children. They are what I've left for the world, and i know it is a better place for having them in it. I could not be more proud of them for how they have dealt with my illness at critical times in their education and childhood.
Just because I'm no longer physically present in the conventional sense, doesnt mean I've gone. Everything I am, all the elements my body is made from, will be absorbed back into the earth, into the universe. So I'll be around always.
Don't sit in traffic getting stressed, look at the sky, the trees, the birds, let people in from side roads and make someone else's day better - it's the butterfly effect.

Know yourself, know your body, and take care of both......


That's the nuts and bolts of what happened but it's not the full story - how can I possibly describe the grief we all felt, the tears, the regrets, the deep chasm that she has left? Some strong bonds have been formed these last few weeks, between the people she has left behind - but we are all too aware of the one person missing from our group. This proud, independent, courageous and clever woman will never be forgotten.

I'll leave you, as she would have wished, with a smile on your faces:

Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." [2] Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight (even though the original Wonder Woman did not have this ability), super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses animal-like cunning skills and a natural rapport with animals, which has been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.

4 comments:

Juanita said...

Thank you for the update. She is such a ray of sunshine, that smile will light our way. Our Team Mission Statement is very appropriate;
Death is Nothing at All by Henry Scott Holland

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away to the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect.
Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolute unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you.
For an interval.
Somewhere. Very near.
Just around the corner.

All is well.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this. A beautiful tribute.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for much for posting. I think this helps to bring closure to those of us which followed Lisa and felt a true friendship even though we never saw each other eye to eye. I have not followed Lisa near as long as many but never the less she touched my life. I was at a point in my life where I was nearly sick with depression and stress. Although I was phyically healthy I was having a very difficult time having any joy in my life. I kept worring about fianical problems, divorce bitterness and it robbed me of so much. Lisa made me realize life truly is what we make it. She was able to retain joy in her life even during the hardest most difficult times. She did not seem bitter at what life gave her but determined to live the life given her no matter how difficult it was at times. My problems seem small compared to what Lisa was coping with each day. I will not waste anymore time dwelling on what I don't have or what I wished I had, I will live the fullest life I can with what I do have. I am so thankful for Lisa's time to drop me encouraging words even during the worst of her own path in life, which made my path seem easy. Thank you again for sharing. I hope you can find peace and be able to always smile when Lisa enters your mind, she will always live in your heart. Violet

Anonymous said...

Thank you for much for posting. I think this helps to bring closure to those of us which followed Lisa and felt a true friendship even though we never saw each other eye to eye. I have not followed Lisa near as long as many but never the less she touched my life. I was at a point in my life where I was nearly sick with depression and stress. Although I was phyically healthy I was having a very difficult time having any joy in my life. I kept worring about fianical problems, divorce bitterness and it robbed me of so much. Lisa made me realize life truly is what we make it. She was able to retain joy in her life even during the hardest most difficult times. She did not seem bitter at what life gave her but determined to live the life given her no matter how difficult it was at times. My problems seem small compared to what Lisa was coping with each day. I will not waste anymore time dwelling on what I don't have or what I wished I had, I will live the fullest life I can with what I do have. I am so thankful for Lisa's time to drop me encouraging words even during the worst of her own path in life, which made my path seem easy. Thank you again for sharing. I hope you can find peace and be able to always smile when Lisa enters your mind, she will always live in your heart. Violet