Thought I would share the Facebook post we just put up, from TallWife. Her mother passed away this morning, and we head for New Orleans Saturday. It was wonderful knowing my Mother In Law, and we are all glad she didn't endure years of failed health. Not long ago, she was keen and vigorous. May we all be as happy as she was, for as long, then pass as peacefully.
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My Momma loved the wide open spaces and the wildlife of the West, spending much of her time when here with us walking and hiking. I have that in me, too, so I became fascinated by the owl family raising its young in the trees, and the neighbor's shed, just over our fence. I researched to learn they were Barn Owls, and I set aside some of my gardening to observe them each evening at dusk. I even let the grass grow long to encourage the mouse population and provide them with ample food. They have prospered, and we fall asleep each night to the sound of their soft screeching.
Yet when I mentioned "my owls" to a Navajo friend, she had a very subdued reaction, letting me know that in Navajo folklore, owls are harbingers of death. Yesterday, they seemed to me to be true symbols of life, and of the West, when they circled my yard several times as I stared in admiration. But my friend, the Navajo, was just as right as I was. This morning my dear mother died a gentle death. She would have loved knowing her passing was heralded by a family of owls. She would have smiled one those smiles that lit up the lives of so many of us who knew her. My mother lived a full life, enriching those around her. We will miss her, but that will be our only pain, because Momma died happy, just as she lived.
We will continue to enjoy our owls, and remember our mother.
