“Deep waters cannot quench love, no floods sweep it away.”  — Song of Songs 8:7

Speaking about the process and reading my poem.

Last week, McLean Home Care and Hospice (Simsbury, CT) hosted the Eighth Annual “Lights of Hope” Ceremony.  It was a wonderful celebration of honoring those who had passed on in 2015 while in the hospice care.  Family and friends of the departed were in attendance. The ceremony included beautiful music, healing words, and a reading of all the names being honored.  Near the end of the event, the Hospice Memorial Quilt was unveiled.

This was my fifth year creating the quilt.  Those who wish to participate are welcome to create a fabric square in remembrance of their loved one.  I assemble the squares, add my own touches and create a quilt.  Elizabeth Scheidel,  who is a member of the McLean staff, stitches a poem for the quilt.  Her words establish a theme and inspire the artwork and embellishments.

 As part of my presenting speech, I shared how, while working on these quilts, my own memories of loss are often triggered.  Sometimes those memories bring forth a poem.  When stitching up this quilt, I found myself recalling the last Christmas I spent with my friend, Rena.  We were playing Bingo and my husband was calling the numbers in a particularly silly way.  Rena and I started laughing and couldn’t seem to stop for hours.  While remembering that day, I started to laugh and then thought how happy Rena must be to know I was remembering her in this way.  This poem emerged from those thoughts –

Remember Me With Laughter

Remember me with laughter
at times when sadness has taken hold.
Think of the time I made you grin
with that corny joke I told.

Remember me with a smile
when it’s my company you seek.
Think of watching our favorite comedy
when our laughs brought tears down our cheeks.

Remember me with heartfelt joy
when loneliness is heavy on your lap.
Think of how I slipped in the new fallen snow
and the snowman caught my cap!

Remember me with cheerfulness
when you recall all that death took.
Think of the times I’d crack you up
when I gave you my prankster “look.”

Laughter is not just good medicine.
It’s God’s treasured gift.
He’ll help conjure up a memory
in those moments when you need a lift.

Remember me with laughter
to help ease some of the pain.
Take time to enjoy the goodness of life
until we are laughing together again.

– Dorothy J. Szypulski
Lights of Hope Ceremony
McLean Home Care and Hospice
November 22, 2016

Wishing Well of Love

Stitching by Elizabeth Scheidel

Speaking with guests

Viewing up close

Viewing up close

Late submission became a pail!

Close up work

Close up work

More viewing by guests

Proud of my work!