Today I attended the funeral of a friend who recently passed away.
As a young woman entering the workforce I first came to known Lorna as one of my senior work colleagues. In those early days Lorna took me "under her wings" and showed me the way. Lorna was a kind and patient teacher, she was always positive and caring to all she came in contact with. It was very easy to respect such a lovely lady who also had such wonderful and peaceful respect for others.
Even after moving from that job, Lorna and I would still bump into each other, particularly at the hairdressers. I still remember the day we both had a laugh when we realised that my hairdresser whom I'd been visiting for years and who was also a good friend of a friend of mine was in fact Lorna's youngest sister.
For the last four years I had the pleasure of working alongside Lorna again and it was simply wonderful. Lorna had a strong zest for life and she loved sharing her interests with you. I remember sharing with her my thoughts and feelings on the loss of my grandfather and talking to her about his funeral. I mentioned his Scottish heritage to her and that the bagpipes had been played at his funeral and how much I adored the sound of the pipes. Lorna then told me that she played the bagpipes in our local pipe band, invited me to come along and listen anytime I wished and of course I did.
It was also during one of our "hallway catch-ups" that another one of Lorna's interests was shared and led to probably the most important way I was lucky enough to have known her. I came to know Lorna as a wise, kind and caring Tai Chi instructor. Saturday mornings were spent in our beautiful botanic gardens surrounded by giant trees with the breeze whispering through their leaves. Relaxing, moving, breathing, cleaning out the stale energy, gathering new and positive energy and storing it within.
Today Lorna's funeral was a celebration of her life. Lorna's kindness and generosity touched so many. I, like so many others shed tears for a very special lady and although feeling sad I was also left with a strong feeling of peace and gratitude. I and others have been extremely lucky to have shared time with Lorna and have been enriched by having her in our lives. I am thankful that I was fortunate enough to have the qualities of kindness, respect and humility passed onto me by someone so wise, someone who was my elder and someone I respect.
Thank you Lorna, rest peacefully xx
