Monday, August 14, 2017
When I first started working at The Gallery, Ms. Lethia told me she was hard to get along with. It was like she was telling me on my first day that things might not work out. But soon after, she was calling me cuz because I was already family, and she was telling me she loved me.
I am incredibly sad that I will not get to spend any more days with Ms. Lethia, but I am already smiling at remembering her spunkiness, her jokes and her company while we took naps in the living room, books open on both of our laps.
She was such a special person to me, always smiling and making the room brighter. I am grateful to have found community in her, to have gotten to know and love her, to have found myself in the company of someone who knew how to love so big.
I imagine she is already sitting in some easy chair somewhere, her feet propped up and a glass of iced tea on the table next to her, waiting for someone to come through the door and visit with her, waiting for her little Lily dog to come sit beside her and sleep.
Last week, I was listening to the radio and driving up to work with Ms. Lethia. It seems kinda silly now to think about now, but maybe not since it's stuck with me. One of the interviews was about someone who had recently passed who meant a lot to the guest. It was said that we carry those we love inside us even after they're gone. I am feeling heavy lately from missing Ms. Lethia. But maybe I am also a bit heavier because I am getting to carry a bit of Ms. Lethia's love for people and a bit of her feistiness in my heart now. I sure do welcome that.