Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand But I know who holds tomorrow And I know who holds my hand.
Every step is getting brighter As the golden stairs I climb; Every burden’s getting lighter, Every cloud is silver-lined. There the sun is always shining, There no tear will dim the eye; At the ending of the rainbow Where the mountains touch the sky.
I don’t know about tomorrow; It may bring me poverty. But the one who feeds the sparrow, Is the one who stands by me. And the path that is my portion May be through the flame or flood; But His presence goes before me And I’m covered with His blood.
This song was sung at Cuma's funeral by one of her caregivers, Wanda. Wanda is a Christian lady who loves to sing. She used to sing songs to Cuma and she has a very beautiful voice. It was the most beautiful song I have ever heard sung at a funeral as it had such special meaning for all of us. Thank you, Wanda.
Cuma loved violets. I tried to get them to grow for her for years. We had a standing joke between us about my violet growing attempts. I never had much luck. I tried all the suggestions I received and nothing seemed to work. I would get one going pretty good and then it would die. Our favorite joke was the violet leaf I stuck in a pot of dirt halfway down. This was a suggestion that I received to get a violet started. It never did anything but die. The leaf turned brown and finally shriveled up to nothing. At least, it gave Cuma and I many good laughs over the years.
I am one of those rare individuals in life that loved her mother-in-law dearly. She was my best friend and I miss her so much. Cuma was a very good listener. She never offered advice unless you asked for it. She would listen to all your problems and sympathize with you over any little thing. My favorite thing to hear her say after I had described some trivial problem to her was, "Oh, my goodness!". She agreed with me on everything and loved to listen to me describe my day to her. Any small thing was never too trivial for her to listen to. The first thing she always asked me everytime I saw her was "How was your day?". Since she didn't get out of the house very much, she loved to listen to anyone tell them about their day no matter how small a day it was. A trip to the supermarket seems such a boring story to me and you, but to her, it was a big pleasure in her life.
During the last 4 years of her life, she was confined to her home as her health was very bad. She suffered with congestive heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis for many years. I worked only part-time for the first 2 years to help with her caregiving. The next year, I quit working completely to care for her. During the last year of her life, we hired other caregivers to stay with her part of the time, but most of the time, I was there. I am thankful for the privilege of getting to know my mother-in-law more than most daughters-in-law do. She was my very best friend.
If her son, my husband, was teasing me, she would get on to him for it and it was so funny. One time he was kidding her and he told her she loved me more than him cause she was always taking my side. She got really serious and said no, she didn't, but he shouldn't be teasing me. My husband and I got the biggest laugh over that one.
You were my best friend, Ma Page, and I miss you so much. I will always love you dearly.
Your daughter-in-law,
Carla Jean