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© rottlady, 2011 Susan and GoodBen
I first met Sydney on an article about some women's issue, don't ask me what. I had gotten into it with a fellow who happened to be most arrogant. He thought he was God. I may not know God intimately, but one thing I do know: He isn't a doctoral student in California.
I was catching my breath on the sidelines, when dear Sydney answered the call, and took him on. Sydney took the full force of the fight, wielding her sword of mightiness with a firm hand, and I, resting from the previous battle, occasionally interjected with a quick parry to distract him from Sydney's main thrusts. I thought she was a man. She thought I was a man. We both laughed hysterically when we found out that we weren't!
I sent her a message, via the Contact Author button, to express my admiration of her rapier wit, her impact-making intelligence, and her ability to slice up her foe into bits without once raising her voice or losing her cool. She answered, and we very quickly became fast friends. We talked together on the same articles. We had a lot of the same friends. We joined a lot of the same groups.
Then, we became real friends. We emailed back and forth, although we did not exchange phone numbers. She had a lovely son. I had a lovely son. She adored cats, dogs, horses, children. So did I. We felt the same way, politically, religiously, and just about every way there was to feel. I often felt as if I were talking to my twin, in our emails. We had obviously grown up in each other's homes, even if they were 800 miles apart.
& copy; rottlady, 2011 The VineMeet
Then, we had the VineMeet in Louisville, and Sydney came with her son GoodBen. I didn't know the name of her son, until the about day before, we were so careful with each other's lives. An intensely private person, I felt that I could tell her anything, and did. I think she felt the same way-- I leaned on her as I would lean on a family member-- be it someone removed from the family-- but someone that I could trust with my soul. And I did.
The absolute moment I met her, I felt that I was seeing a childhood friend again. She had a way of accepting people as they were-- not as she may like them to be. A Great Lady. A Wonderful Friend. A Loving Mother. A Faithful and Loving Wife. A Supremely Intelligent, Caring Professional.
If you could live a lifetime in 3 days, all of us did it. We had to. We knew each other so intimately and well, the brief time that we had to be together was lived at an accelerated pace-- we laughed until we cried, and we had the most fun that could be had. All of us, at the VineMeet. In about 2 seconds, I loved GoodBen as if he were my own. I found myself sitting beside him at lunch, stroking his back like I stroke Peep's back. I apologized, but he seemed to accept it, thank heavens. He's my son, too, in so many ways.
© rottlady, 2011 More VineMeet pictures!
All of us there grew so very close in such a short amount of time. And one of the crowning glories of the VineMeet was meeting dear Sydney in person. I loved her hands, which were so pretty. I loved the straightness of her back. I loved her integrity, her beauty, and the way she smilled. If things weren't absolutely deluxe, it didn't bother her. She was one of those people who were blessed with the gift of overlooking "corn" to appreciate "heart".
I have put together a little tribute video, that I've been working on all week. I started it as a Get Well card. The video is linked below, and I recommend that you play it full screen. It is a song that we discussed as one of our favorites, in the car, going somewhere that weekend. In the video, I've tried to put many of the things in it that I know she loved. The only thing lacking is her wonderful, loving son, GoodBen.
Sydney loved GoodBen more than anything in this world. She wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. For awhile, I know that happiness will be difficult for him, but, after a while, I know he will be strong and live his life as his mother taught him-- he will live life with love and joy in his heart.
May God bless our GoodBen.
I hope you enjoy the video below. After the video, please feel free to tell us how you met Sydney, and what she meant to you. This is to be a celebration of a life that was Well-Lived!
Montage of things that our dear friend would love.
Dear Mrs. D has composed a pictorial tribute to our Sydney. You can find her article HERE.
Thank you for coming by to pay tribute to our Sydney-5!
Memorial donations may be made to the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society, 3 Oakland Ave., Menands, NY 12204
The page that includes the memorial is here.
