TODAY I BURIED MY BEST FRIEND
She was the most loyal, faithful, and trustworthy friend I have every had. Over the years, Sister Ruth Margaret Karabensh and I kept in contact with each other, mainly by letter. We found each other in different countries and states. Distance did not always lend opportunities for in-person visits. But we always knew where and how we could find one another.
In early 2019 I received a letter from her. Much to my surprise, the letter was an invite. “Why don’t you come to the Monastery and live with us? I will help you settle in.”
It was with much hesitation that I answered her letter but with many questions. Then, on April 29, 2019, after all the agreements and legalities had been signed and finalized, I moved, goods and chattels, and with her guidance, “settled in.”
We, again, lived under one roof for five years. We aged together. Her physical and mental health gradually declined and step-by-step she was not able to participate in all community activities. She prided herself, however, that “I can still walk, and I can still wash my clothes.”
On Wednesday, October 31, she fell to the floor in her room and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Brain bleeds were diagnosed. Once there, she never regained full consciousness.
I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the last ten hours of her life with her alone. I prayed with her, talked to her, and promised that I would never forget her.
At 5:01 a.m. on November 1, the Feast of All Saints, she breathed her last; her heart stopped beating and like a shooting star, she went to God as I held her hand and thanked God for giving me a best friend. She was truly an angel on my shoulder in joyful times and in overwhelming tough times. Her farewell was quick; almost as if she had to leave in a hurry. She was ready. Her work on this planet, this land of stars and stripes, was finished.
No need to dawdle.
The ultimate and unrehearsed salute to Ruth Margaret at the cemetery was a fly-over of five honking wild geese in formation.
I had a best friend; I need no other. I will carry her beauty and her character forever in my heart.
~Sister Clarice Carroll, sfcc
November 7, 2024
