Swan Song

Swan Song

We held the celebration of life service for my mother on Saturnday!! I believe it was a fitting tribute to her legacy. My cousin shared that my mom was Women’s Lib before there was such a thing. She never held her tongue and pretty much just spit out whatever she was thinking! It was her truth. Another shared about memories of Girl Scout camp and swinging vines. There was a story from a young grandson of her attention to his discovery of a fossil and from a granddaughter of her love. One after another they shared their memories of love, laughter and mama’s light. It was joyful to revisit the energies of my childhood and my super mom. It has been a long journey from where I walk today.

Just the day before, my sister and I had planned the program as a last ditch effort to organize a service my mother would have approved. When we came to a proper name for the ending of the service, we couldn’t connect with closing, conclusion and finale. Through an internet search on the thesaurus we discovered swan song.

 

Wikipedia suggests that a swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans (Cygnus spp.) sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime. This belief, whose basis in actuality is long-debated, had become proverbial in Ancient Greece by the 3rd century BC, and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art.

 

We knew that our mom’s final exit was akin to one last performance for a life well lived. Live until you die and live brighter than life for your swan song. A lesson well taught by my mother, Nola Jean Gragg Couts’. Love you Mom!!  You will be missed but never forgotten.

Till next time…