Tonight a very sad and wonderful event took place.  Yes, I chose the right words, although they might seem a bit incongruous.  You see, tonight a very special niece of mine took her heavenly flight, leaving behind her sick, emaciated shell that once housed her mind, will, spirit, emotions – all the components that make each of us who we are.  No longer is Arlyne restricted and caged and bewildered, battling a dreadful malady.  Tonight she is free, yes, free at last from the shackles of the wretched disease called Alzheimer’s, which has stolen so much from her; and yet, even when the disease ravaged and raged and intensified without abandon, the essence of her goodness somehow broke through the barriers, and miraculously our spirits connected. 

Up until we were no longer able to communicate, I would call her, and she would exclaim, “Aunt Velta!”   Such a little thing, but to her it meant so much to be remembered.  We would talk and talk, ramble and ramble, reminisce, tell the same old stories that we knew by heart.  They were still funny.  They will always be funny.  Being just a few years apart in age, we banked a lot of precious memories and shared some sad ones along the way.  We’d talk about the Lord and how much He loves us; she would tell me what she was doing and where she was going.  Sometimes, the events were etched so deeply in her memory that we both believed everything about everything, because that’s where we found comfort.  Agreeing with each other – it didn’t matter whether it was reality or not.  Mainly, at first, after settling in her new environment, she wanted to go home.  Back to her own home, full of her treasures and her memories and her sweet little dogs that brought her so much joy, especially after her husband passed away. Of course, that wasn’t possible.  Her family all loved her too much to leave her there alone at a time when she was vulnerable and needed the loving protection and care of others.

So tonight, my heart is heavy because we will all miss Arlyne and there will be a hole in our heart; but, really, she’s been gone for a long time, anyway.  And we were helpless.  It’s been a long journey toward her ultimate healing, but tonight she arrived at her destination.  I wish I could get a glimpse of her glorious welcoming ceremony.  I know her mother - my sister, Lou - was among the first to greet her.  I'm sure the welcome committee included my mother, her beloved Granny Gray - and Grandpa; her Aunt Opal, her cousin, Butch, who we all loved and for whom we still grieve deeply; and her precious infant daughter, Sara, to whom she gave birth the same day she committed her tiny body to the Lord.  How wonderful it will be to see that little baby girl whole and healed and alive!

I don’t know what Heaven is like; at best we can only imagine, as the song says.  I only know it is a wonderful place that God has been preparing for His children.  What I do know is that tonight at six o’clock in Dallas, Texas, he lovingly reached His hands down and said to Arlyne, “It’s time to come home.”  

You really are home now, Arlyne.  Goodbye for now.  I’ll see you soon.  Aunt Velta

Billy Arlyne Bristow Harrison – October 13, 1942 – February 23, 2011
(Photo taken in March 2009 at Grace Presbyterian Home, Dallas, Texas)