Gratitudes

Written by Drusilla on October 24th, 2014

(Written by Dru 1998, reviewed by Dru Sept 16, 2014, and discovered by Art, October 20th, 2014)

 

For you my dearest ones in the world, those with whom I hope to spend many more lifetimes, I want you to know what I am most grateful for at this moment, now, as I sit writing this with tears streaming down my face. That way, when I am dying you will know that I have loved my life and learned from it.

 

I am grateful…

 

— That I got to have a marriage to my soul mate.

 

— That I had a family I loved with all my heart.  That I had the joy of raising children and that we stayed friends through thick and thicker.  That our family had pets and music and trips and mess and jokes and screaming in ears.  That we did more things right together than wrong.

 

— That I had a brother and sister and we were great friends as well as siblings.  That Kip and I shared the love of plants and dogs and together could remember things like the house on College Avenue and those interminable driving trips to Canada.  That Margaret was with me when the boys were little.  That she could make me laugh like no one else and only she really understood that I could love our mother and be driven crazy by her.

 

— That I had a mother and father who, for all their failings, had a great many strengths.  They loved me and from both of them I received wonderful gifts.

 

— That I had friends I really loved who loved me back, friends with whom I shared the blood of my feelings and who shared in return.

 

— That I had the inexpressible joy of work I loved and that I never gave up on it even when wiser souls might have.

 

— That I got to teach, children and adults.  My students helped me stand up straight.

 

— That I stopped drinking and doing drugs in 1983 and was introduced to the Twelve Steps beginning with that most difficult of all: “We are powerless over drugs and alcohol”… and everything else.

 

— That I had a deep spiritual yearning from early childhood on.

 

Be watching for me in a garden somewhere.  Listen for my voice on the wind.  I will never leave you.

Filed under Cancer, Family & Friends, Life Matters | Tags: , , , ,


9 Responses to “Gratitudes”

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  1. Junne Snoddy says:
    October 30, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Good bye Dru.

    We don’t know each other well, but I’m glad I get to give you a hug once.

  2. Allison Harnden says:
    October 30, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    Dru,

    That rockstar voice, that mischievous spark in those green eyes and your laugh. How could such a passionate force ever leave our consciousness? You will always, always be in my heart and whispering wisdom to my writing mind. I am ever grateful for your being the mother of my creative self and was honored to be your friend. I miss you so much, my Northern California sister.

    Allison

  3. Peggy Lang says:
    October 31, 2014 at 7:50 am

    Art, thank you so much for finding this. My God, she was wise and wonderful. And I know just the garden to look for her in–it’s the one by the cloud forest she wrote about in Sweet Thyme Baby. I picture her there. And I will listen…
    Love forever and goodbye, dear Dru.

  4. James Mann says:
    October 31, 2014 at 8:51 am

    And, we will never leave you!

  5. Kay Sanger says:
    November 1, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    Dru,
    I’m grateful for the opportunity to have known you and learned from you. Your sparkle and wisdom will live on through your words and your students. Thank you!

  6. Drusilla Campbell, 1940-2014 « drusillacampbell.com says:
    November 5, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    […] Read Drusilla’s Gratitudes […]

  7. James says:
    November 26, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    She’s about as gone as Elvis. Which is to say that she’ll never be gone. Her stamp on us is indelible. Her legacy will live within us for all of our days. Thank you, Dru… for everything.

  8. Sandra Millers Younger says:
    November 28, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    What a wonderful legacy. I’m so glad she wrote this!

  9. xavier says:
    December 2, 2014 at 3:29 pm

    I remember very soon after meeting Dru being enchanted by her ability to coax conversation from the people surrounding her table or any table where the object was to enjoy the company and intelligence of those assembled. Her delight experiencing the outcome was evident. I enjoyed everything about being around her. She was masterful and fascinating. She was about giving others the opportunity to shine when we all knew she was the star we would look up to then and even now. I’m grateful to know that when I look up into the heavens hers will be the brightest star to shine on me. I am privileged to know that her family was one that I could count as my own.

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