I love Lucy

Lucy was not her real name but it was a nickname given to her over the years by her three children. "Lucy" was my mother: Colleen Gfeller who just passed away Sept. 20th of this year. She had COPD and was slowly slipping away for a long time. She was my best friend for 64 years and when people ask why I haven't posted on my blog since July, I tell them that my heart just hasn't been in writing. Now, I want to write about my mother.

Mother was a beautiful looking young woman, popular and, according to her, had the best childhood anyone could have. She was right because my beloved grandparents would have made it perfect for her. My brother, sister and I received that love also. Mother always made the hurt knee better, the broken heart heal and smeared enough Vicks Vap-O-Rub on our chests that we should never have a cold again.

We called her Lucy because she reminded us of Lucille Ball's character on the TV show "I Love Lucy." She was funny, a little naive and loved to laugh. Mother never met a stranger and we used to kid her about meeting a new best friend over the lettuce in the produce dept. of the grocery store. One story my brother tells is this:

I have already said that Mother was a beautiful woman and because she worked outside the home in the 1950s and 60s, she dressed to the nines. She was a busy working mother and stopped at the grocery store with my brother on the way home one day. Back then, if you wrote a check at the store, it had to be approved at the customer service desk. She was waiting in line and the man in front of her asked the clerk for a postage stamp. The clerk said " I am sorry, I am sold out of stamps." Mother pulled one out of her purse and sold it to the man. She did her business at the desk and was about to leave and another person came up asking for stamps. Again the clerk explained that he was sold out of stamps and mother said "I will sell you a stamp." As she was leaving, still another man walked up and said "I would like to buy a postage stamp" and was told the store was sold out of stamps. Mother looked at the customer and said "I'm sorry, I am sold out too!" She turned and walked away leaving the man bewildered. He had no idea what this lovely lady was talking about.

I went to my mother a million times over the years for a shoulder to cry on, a smile, or asked for advise. She would give me that advise but never unless I asked for it first. I always knew that she would love me unconditionally forever. And she did. She loved all three of her children with all of her heart. Over the last few months my brother and I made several trips home because we knew she didn't have much longer to live. Every time we were there with our sister, Mother would tell us that she had the best children in the world. Her grandchildren and great grands were a delight to her.

She also loved her husband, our step-father. They had 36 years together and enjoyed traveling, camping, playing cards, and just laughing and being together. They shared marriages, deaths, births and all those family events that create a bond. She loved the times when the entire family was together, even though we are scattered across the country.

The last 18 hours of her life, we were all there with her and, except for a few minutes, didn't leave her side. She slipped into a coma but we still talked to her, held her hand and told her that Jesus was waiting for her. We laughed and cried and I think she could hear us. We knew she didn't have much longer to be with us and we wanted her to know that it was OK to leave us. We would be fine. We were there that precious moment she passed away.

She died well. She died with dignity and courage and when she left us it was like a jig saw puzzle with a missing piece. The picture that the puzzle creates will never be whole. There will always be a missing piece of my heart. She was such an important person in my life. She was a rock for her family and many friends.

Mother took tap dance classes as a child and she used to entertain us with a little nautical dance called the Sailors Hornpipe. She danced that little jig even up into her 70s. We loved watching her dance. She had a deep Christian faith and died peacefully last month. When I think of Mother, with God, I can almost see her dancing the Sailors Hornpipe across heaven.