Final Gifts

I want to recommend a book I enjoyed after my Dad passed on. The title is Final Gifts. It was written by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley. The ladies are Hospice Nurses. It's a wonderful read if you have lost or are loosing a family member or friend. The book gives you insight to the death process.

Here is a poem written by Debbie Short, Hospice Nurse in Tillamook County, Oregon. Debbie shared this poem with our family the day before my Mother-in-Law passed away. We included her poem in Mom's funeral pamphlet. I thank you Deb, once again for sharing your heart.

"My Collection

Folks tend to save things all their lives

Collecting various stuff

From teaspoons to toasters, to teddy bears

To outrageous Hollywood fluff.

Others covet old maps and books

And pour over each one with zest

Or sigh, reading brittle love letters of old

Timeless messages to those cherished best.

I too, have keepsakes that are dear to me

That would mean nothing to somebody else

Things, that when I am gone, will be gone too

Or sit draped in dust on a shelf.

But the collections that mean the most to me

Are painstakingly built over time;

Friends that are clearly hand-picked by God

And family ties that gently still bind.

My collection surely won't fetch a price

On the market of world-woven pleasures

But here, in my heart, it is priceless indeed

A treasured gift, with worth beyond measure."

May you enjoy your family and friends. Keep in touch often. I have been blessed with my collection of family and friends and they are my greatest supporters, whether we are talking about my FM or life situations.