My nanny finally passed away this evening.
In the same calm, dignified way that she lived her life. Without any fuss or drama, she just closed her eyes, and slipped quietly away from us.
How can the people we love so dearly be gone so easily. After almost 93 years of giving so much and asking so little. Shouldn't there be something, a soft roll of thunder, or maybe the lights should flicker for a brief moment? Just something small to make people realise that the world just lost something precious. That Elizabeth Lavender is gone forever.
The tears that come aren't just because she's gone. They're because I've suddenly realised that it's too late for so many things. I wish that last time I saw her, I'd held her hand for just a little bit longer, and squeezed it just a little bit harder. That I'd let her kiss me one more time before I turned and left. And that I'd told her how incredible she was, and that she could never be replaced.
The tears are because even though we loved her so dearly, we have to say goodbye.
Elizabeth Lavender (1918 - 2011)
