mar's Desk

marcoujor: Sleep Well, Eunice

7/19/2017

Eunice was conservative and proper--never a hair out of place.

At the ripe age of 81, she had earned the right to put her feet up and enjoy life a bit. Yet, relaxing didn't come easily. Even watching television in the evening was accompanied by busy, productive work of some kind.

Eunice was prepared for anything. She kept shelves of vases of every shape and size for whatever kind of floral arrangement she was putting together.

Eunice was proud, always in control and ready for duty, even when she was sick. While she gave her best appearance of being fine, symptoms continued and could no longer be denied. Her doctor confirmed that she had Stage IV liver cancer earlier this year.

She was methodical in approach. Decisions were made slowly and thoughtfully about the extent of the treatment she wished. Above all, she was private, waiting to tell her sister until she was absolutely sure of all the details.

Eunice knew, worked with, and impacted the lives of many people, including her spiritual community, students she had taught, their parents and her large extended family of first and second generation nieces and nephews.

Defying medical predictions, Eunice spent three months saying her goodbyes and preparing for the next phase of her journey. She was clearly on her own timetable.

Early the morning of July 16th, Eunice died. With many faithful visitors the evening before, she waited until she could do her last bit of earthly business in private as well.

As I think of Eunice's lifestyle, I'm reminded of an expression my Dad liked to use, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

If one of my siblings or I slept much past 7:00 A.M. (even on weekends), we'd be greeted with: "What are you doing? Sleeping your life away?"

I wonder if Eunice grew up with a similar family philosophy. And, I wonder, if like me, she believed "There's no rest for the weary and the wicked don't need it."

For me, coming as close to death as I ever dreamed possible in 1999 was a jolt that helped me gain overdue perspective on a work/play balance. I haven't looked back!

My hope is that Eunice is now free of pain and allowing herself to finally relax and enjoy her heavenly surrounds, with no clocks, schedules, commitments or assigned duties. I imagine a heavenly guide showing her to a flower-filled suite, a freezer filled with ice cream -with a variety of books and a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be tackled.