Frances Natalie Pearlman is the lady in the chair.
My mom, who went by the name of Natalie her entire life, passed away from this world Sept. 16, 2008, one day short of age 75 1/2.
My mom was my best friend, there for me until the end.
How grateful i am that i was there beside her holding her hand as she took her last breath.
Full of life, full of laughter, full of love for all her friends - and mine as well.
She was honest, kind and generous... almost to a fault, but she was never a martyr.
She loved clouds and the ocean and a good book - a woman after my own heart!
She always helped her family and friends when we needed it... and many when we didn't even know we needed any help at all.
She had a wicked sense of humor - she could laugh at herself!
She had an eye for a bargain - she loved showing off how well she saved with coupons at the grocery store.
And somehow she was able to find the best in everyone, even in some of the worst of people, even at some of the worst of times.
Always wanting to work from the moment she was able to do so, she kept her photography business thriving with her youngest brother long after her Jan. 1, 2008 diagnosis of cancer.
She was a teacher by profession and also by the way she lived her life - she always taught whomever would listen, but at the same time, she always wanted to - and did - learn.
Though her spirit is with us, my family grieves...
The lady in the chair was:
A wonderful wife for my father for 53+ years,
A shining light of a sister to her two brothers,
An amazing mother to me and my two sisters,
The best Bubbe (grandma) to 12 adoring kids,
A doting aunt to her two nephews,
The one cousin who stayed in contact with dozens of relatives...
She was a friend like no other - her pals from California and from back when she lived in Chicago have made my broken heart heal a little bit... i have smiled after being regaled by/with stories of her devotion and humor, her intelligence and insight; i am only now beginning to find out about the lives she touched around the world.
Mom, i miss you and shall never forget you.
Rick Springfield got it right:
MY FATHER'S CHAIR
My father's chair still standing there
All alone since the long night
Now it's three years on and I still feel
He'll come home, we'll be alright
So where's this healing time brings
I was told the pain would ease
But it still hurts like the first night
That night my brother, my mother and I
Were looking up at a distant star
And wishing we could reach that far
And back in the house
And alone for the first time
We told each other we cared
We avoided my father's chair
I watch my family, we hold on
We are strong and we'll be alright
The clock continues counting down,
All the while
And every child will share the long night
But do the spirits meet again
Why am I still so filled with doubt
Is my soul everlasting
And the far distant future
When I knew you'd be gone
Came too fast and stays too long
Why do they leave the weaker spirit
And take the strong
But when the world turns sour
And I get sick from the smell
And I can find no comfort there
I climb into my father's chair
