This week, we suffered a profound bereavement. We lost our beloved neighbor, Mrs. Frances Wilson.
Mrs. Wilson was the mother of another lovely neighbor, Rebecca, who lives with her husband Dan across the street. Mrs. Wilson lived next door to us. From the day she moved in, we knew we were blessed to have her.
First of all, by her actions, she reminded us to be grateful for whatever life brings our way.
Mrs. Wilson never let a day go by without expressing appreciation of her surroundings: the trees, the weather, the laughter of children. She loved to sit outdoors on the small, leafy terraced area in her front yard and enjoy all of those things, drinking them in with unbridled joy. She told us time and time again how much she liked to watch the youngsters –including our son – at play. We breathed a little easier knowing she was there.
She also taught us that every moment, every place in life brings compensation.
She was from New Mexico. She knew and appreciated the beauty and vivid colors of that state. But she also took delight in her new environs of North Texas. She loved the trees and the birdsong and the –mostly --temperate days that allowed her to sit outside every evening and drink in nature’s beauty.
Without realizing it, she reminded us, by her history, that everyone has a story.
Although in our conversations she kept the focus on us with her polite and interested questions, little by little, we learned about her. Answering the call for women to work on the home front during World War II, she was a member of the Greatest Generation. She had helped build battleships in Washington state. She fascinated us her with her detailed recollections of how women of her era discovered they were capable and, indeed, made the difference in quickly arming a nation that was not quite prepared for world conflict.
But, she was also an accomplished and skilled artist. Her home was filled with her bright, sunny canvases -- the products of her skilled observations and talented hand. Although she was very modest about her efforts, we felt incredibly privileged when she allowed us to view her work.
She taught us to appreciate anew our own blessings.
Mrs. Wilson never failed to comment on the “kindness” and “intelligence” of our son and she expertly engaged him in conversation from the time he was a small child through his growing years to adolescence. She admired the “elegance” and “manners” of our Standard Poodle and the “impishness” and “energy” of our not-so-well-behaved Shih-Tzu. She laughed mischievously as we literally chased both son and dogs through our yard to her yard and back to our yard, again. Need I add her laughter eased our frustrations and helped us see the humor of the moment.
Finally, she defined the word neighbor.
Through the years, when we were on vacation Mrs. Wilson collected untold pieces of mail , watered plants, and kept a watchful eye for unfamiliar vehicles in our driveway. She always had the perfect word of greeting, no matter the hour or day or how brief our encounter. She waved to us in our comings and goings, a cheery, optimistic wave that said “I am your friend and I am looking out for you.”
We shall miss her.
