COWS

Fifty-seven year old "Denise" suffers from throat cancer. She has difficulty breathing which is becoming more of a struggle for her as each week goes by. In addition, she has recently started to cough up blood. Each new change is a reminder to her that she is getting closer to death. Her doctor feels she may die within the month.

Denise has a very large collection of porcelain cows. She was excited to learn that I too love cows. Denise stores her cows in two large bins. She brought out the bins today and started to carefully unwrap each cow. She started telling me the stories about each one and where she was traveling when she purchased them.

She was sharing her legacy with me as each cow triggered a beautiful memory for her. It also brought up a lot of sadness as it was a remindeer of all that she will be losing.

Denise asked me to donate the cows to a worthy cause for her. It is important to her that the cows find a home with someone who loves them as much as she does. This is her legacy.


COWS

She has always loved cows.
They easily put a quick smile on her face.
She now has quite a large collection
as her purchases have been many
these past few years.

There's not enough room to display them all.
Most are safely stored in two large bins.
Individually encased in pink bubble wrap.
Each tenderly wrapped by her own two hands.

We went through the two bins today.
She told me the story about each cow.
Each one triggering a lovely memory.
Each one triggering a single tear.

Each cow is reminiscent
of special times and places.
But each is also a reminder
of how much she is going to lose.

She gave me the two bins today.
She asked me to donate them to a worthy cause.
She knows she won't be alive to see it,
but her legacy will continue
as I'll make sure her cows
find a good home.