Goodbye to an almost famous Silent

I know, I'm cheating. This is a personal blog infringing on a business blog, but hey, sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Last week, my family lost one of the great Silents - Peg Reynolds - my mother-in-law and my friend. She wasn't like most Silent era women. In fact, to hear her tell it, she wasn't like anyone else. She was unique. Although she fit the mold of the divorced silent who after many years of marriage was thrust into the workforce when she never thought she would be, she always felt like she was destined for something else. She told me often that she was born before her time. She was unique at a time when individuality was frowned upon. She often told stories of how she would get in trouble from the nuns when she would ask a question. She had a knack for asking questions that no one else had ever thought of. And she never rested until she found an answer - even if it was "I don't know." She lived in her own little world that I dubbed "Ninga's World" (her grandchildren called her Ninga - not ninja - Ninga) Life was different in Ninga's World. Although she went through periods of extreme bitterness,she always brought it around in the end to be ok.

As she got older, she softened a little. I can truly say though that if there was ever something that could go wrong, it would happen to Ninga. I was going to change the title of Murphy's law to Peggy's Law. It was certain that if luggage was going to be lost, it would be hers. If medication was going to run out, it would be the one she needed just one more of, if a meal was going to be served cold, it would the one put in front of her. In the beginning of our marriage, I cringed every time we had to go out into public. Not because she would always make a scene when soemthing went wrong (she did) but because every time we would go out, something would go wrong. But to her defense, my daughter got huge discounts on the special dress that Ninga bought her because something was missing from the dress. The pharmacist at Walgreens gave her free medication after telling her that the pills she needed would cost her three times as much than what she would pay at home. The meals were free after the food didn't look like the picture. The point is, she knew how to fight for what she wanted. While many of us would be embarrassed or too shy to demand better - she made it an art form. I just learned to let her do her thing - even if it meant that I'd wait in the car. I don't have that kind of courage.

In her death, she finally found the easy way. It was sudden and completely unexpected, but she died without suffering. I am so glad she found the easy way at the last minute. It's not easy for her family, but hey, she's been taking the brunt of the hard stuff all her life. She deserved to die in peace. I will miss her terribly, but am honored to have called her my mother-in-law. I hope she finds peace and the easy way and in heaven, her uniqueness will be rewarded forever. RIP Peggy.