It would have been nice to be back together, even briefly, in that pool of memory where no one else would ever swim.~Margot Livesey (From The House On Fortune Street)

My sister, Mary Anne, died in 2017. Her name means Star of the Sea; Grace; Beloved. These descriptions encapsulate the person she was. Due to COVID, I am not able to travel to gather with family and spread her ashes under a grove of Aspen trees. I mourn the fact that I cannot be there in person. I offer my tribute, and perhaps my words will blend with the whisper of the Aspens to create some form of presence.

Our family would all, even briefly, want to swim in that pool of memory with her. For one more day. What would she say to us?

I think she might tell us that she understands our grief and weariness in this cultural moment. She would urge us not to let sadness and powerlessness define soley who we are. Mary Anne loved beauty. I believe she would tell us to find beauty wherever we are. Every day. She was creative. She sewed countless quilts that grace our homes. I think she would instruct us to own our creativity in whatever form that takes in our lives. She was a lover of literature. I would only hope to read as many books as she did over her lifetime. I believe she would encourage us to read. To keep learning. She loved people. Mary Anne would exhort us to love people and offer grace, even to those we find difficult to tolerate or forgive. Mary Anne, too, was a woman of faith in God. I think she would assure us that God has good plans for us, not to harm, but rather to provide a future and a hope, because she has seen and is experiencing the culmination of this promise.

The Aspen is known as the sacred Celtic whispering tree associated with language, communication, the wind, endurance and resurrection. Let us cup our ears to listen. To hear her voice and remember.