Become Positive! Thai How-To | Care2 Healthy & Green Living

Become Positive! Thai How-To | Care2 Healthy & Green Living

For Eleanor

A very dear relative passed away this week - on Mother's Day.

Her name was Eleanor Kramer. She was the wife of my mother's cousin, Orvia. My family is very small, so all relatives were all considered immediate family.

Eleanor was a strong, independent God-fearing woman. She had served as a Wave in WWII, then married and had two children - William and Linda. She was a dedicated wife, mother and member of First Lutheran Church in Bowie, Maryland. She always had time to help and was a very hard worker.

Eleanor loved Orvia and her children very much. She took great pride in her family - her own and the rest of us. In my early life, I remember Eleanor moving around with lightening speed, always busy - usually working in the kitchen, making food or clearing away remnants after meals. Her house, which Orvia built, was always neat and clean. I went there every Spring to pick cherries in their orchard next to the house. I loved the small ornate playhouse Orvia built for Linda, which was big enough for us to play inside.

Eleanor loved the Lord and I looked up to her for her steadfast faith. I never saw that waiver. Life wasn't always fair for Eleanor, but she never complained. Orvia died of lung cancer and Eleanor missed him dearly. Her faith assured her that he was at peace and that gave her comfort. William and Linda went through hardships, but Eleanor stood solid as a rock when they needed her. That strength carried on to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In later years, Eleanor suffered from incurable injuries due to a car accident, a heart attack (she passed away, but was resuscitated - came out with a great story about the light and a feeling of peace and joy), cancer, and finally being confined to a wheel chair in a nursing home due to a stroke. Yet, she made the most of her situation - always! She volunteered to be the greeter twice a week, she participated in as many social and recreational events as she could (she loved playing Bingo and doing crafts - she was always making crafts for the church Christmas bizarre, and she continued to do so at the home until the stroke left her without feeling in her hands.)

I last visited Eleanor a week before her passing. I didn't know this would be our last time together. She now had oxygen and seemed swollen - probably signs of congestive heart failure. She was so happy to see me and my mother, that she gave up going to Bingo to visit with us.

Eleanor and I shared the same birthday, which cemented us together forever! It was something she always told people we met - "this is my cousin and we share the same birthday!" I loved that we had this special thing that bound us to each other. My last words to her was a promise that I'd be back in a month to celebrate our birthday together. Guess God wanted her to spend it with him.

I loved Eleanor, a lot! With her passing goes the last link to all my beloved family that has gone on before her. She would have been 93 years old this June - a fact that made her very proud! Not only will I miss Eleanor, but she was the one of the few persons left who knew all those other Kramers. Tomorrow is her funeral. I do not want to say "Goodbye" to Eleanor Kramer. I have no choice.