Dolores loved welcoming people
to her home
and when our wee family came to visit
she would fuss over all of us –
warm hugs, beaming smiles,
freshly-baked buns,
home-cooked meals.
Dolores would, quite simply,
surround us all with love.

When Dolores took ill
we were blessed with the opportunity
to live with Dolores
and to care for her.
We constantly popped in
to spend time with Dolores –
family dinners and news,
songs and Christmas carols,
holding hands and chatting
and even tea and chocolate fingers
at all times of the day
and night.

As a family we did our best
to surround Dolores with love
and I’m convinced
that we managed to do just that.
And even when Dolores’s world had shrunk
to the size of her bedroom
Dolores seemed to be content
and would greet each of us
with her beautiful, beaming smile
and conspiratorial wink!

Dolores spent her last night on earth
in her own wee house
with our wee family around her.
The next day, at noon,
she simply slipped away.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of precious time
spent with Dolores
in those last few months
and for the opportunity
to surround Dolores with love
in just the same way
that Dolores surrounded us with love
for so many years.

© Claire Murray, 30th January 2019