I was fortunate enough to be the niece of this lady with the beautiful smile! Her lovely smile was what endeared her to all whom she met, and even in her final sleep, she was smiling. She smiled through many years of sickness and two agonizing years of dialysis. Should one ask her “How are you?”, her smiling reply would be “I am OK”.
But she was not “OK”, she was in pain, and a lot of discomfort, and during the last four months of her life, she would have been missing her beloved Shirley so much, but she never complained. She always remembered and spoke of Uncle Shirley with a smile.
Neighbours who called over to pay their last respects to her said, they had not spoken to her much, but knew her to be a lovely person through her smile. Be it a complete stranger, a familiar student, a very close relative or friend, she would greet all of them with her smile.
The best part of it was that even when you called her to chat or to inquire about her health, you could feel her smile, because it was in her voice.
Her birthday is on August 7, a day on which she loved to be remembered, and fussed over. This year for the first time for as long as I can remember, I am unable to wish her a “Happy birthday”, but I console myself in the fact that she is celebrating her best day ever with the Lord and all her loved ones gone before, very specially her beloved Shirley.
“You my darling Punchie Ammie meant so much to me, and I miss you! I will miss you for a long, long time to come as there will never be another like you. So I pray that the good Lord will bless and keep you, till we meet again on that beautiful shore where there will be no more parting!”
Joy (I. Semasinghe) |
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