Gratitude

Thirtyone…

Ruby Pipes4 Comments

Happy birthday, dearest Ruby! Thirtyone…. a prime number…!

My sweet Munchkin always had such a natural way with words. There was something about her brain that absolutely adored and absorbed them. Once she heard a song, she had the words, every verse. Every word. She could memorize every part in a play and say it back with understanding and conviction. She was amazing!

The first time she spent her own money, she bought a beautiful boxed set of miniature Beatrice Potter books. She loved Roald Dahl stories, especially “The BFG” and “Danny, the Champion of the World”. But her all-time favorite was “The Minpins”. When she was 8, she memorized “A Fairy Went A-Marketing”, by Rose Fyleman. When I close my eyes I can see her standing there in her sweet innocence with her pure little voice becoming one with the poem. In third grade, her teacher gave her a hat and a pipe… she rocked it as Sherlock… became the character. Amazing! In fourth grade she became Mark Twain. She always gave it her all! By fourth grade her teachers were quick to point out that she was reading at a twelfth grade level. In ninth grade they created a special award for her at the awards assembly: “Most Grammatically Correct”. Mama was always so very proud!

When she tried out for a play in high school the kids raved, told her she was amazing, and should be able to choose her part! But… the teacher advisor for the plays was also the therapist who had seen her in the emergency room when she cut her wrists and the police found her sitting in her car at the side of the road writing in her journal. Now that was bad luck!

Ruby worked so hard to live her life! She was a vibrant young woman full of passion and love! She helped so many of us to see how much more there is to see! I miss her so much every day! Ruby was full of love and compassion for everyone she knew… please look up that little fairy poem (or better yet, the wonderful children’s book illustrated by Jamichael Henterly… still in print), close your eyes, and imagine Munchkin reciting it to you. You will know that she took those words to heart all her life… and that she had to slip away, too!

These birthday pictures:  one of Ruby’s favorite teachers in high school took the balloon liberation photo… one of her own personal faves! This was in the middle of her homemade T-shirt phase. After classes were out, she took her friends into the parking lot with her bouquet of birthday balloons… and liberated them! A tradition was born. The handpainting is self explanatory… going all in every time! And the rice crispie treats? Best road food ever! She made this batch for my birthday and used her artistic touch, freeing them from the pan and making them so special!

We (her family) are going to honor her this evening with a barbeque followed by rice crispie treats! Sending her bunches and bunches of love! Please light a candle for my dear Munchkin and send her much love, too!

 

 

Gratitude

Happy Birthday, Ruby

Ruby Pipes6 Comments

Happy big 30 Birthday to Ruby!  Wish she was here to celebrate!  She loved honoring her friends and family when our birthdays came around.  Sharing our love for Ruby, I offer you these joyous reminders of past birthdays with her…  Please join me in lighting a (birthday) candle in her honor.  Ruby was a compassionate, brilliant, talented young woman.  We treasure our memories of her with our hearts full of love!

 

 

Gratitude

In Memoriam

Ruby Pipes14 Comments
Ruby Pipes
April 13, 1988-January 29, 2017FullSizeR1
Ruby Pipes, the light of our lives, has found her peace.  Sending love and gratitude to all you loyal followers of our dear Ruby’s Blog.  Ruby was a shining star that flashed through our lives and profoundly touched us all. Her wisdom and loving kindness, her beauty and gorgeous smile will be with us always!
Passionate and effusive, Ruby was quick to make friends and was a fierce friend to have.  Never one to do anything halfway, she loved fully and unconditionally. She remembered birthdays with cards and her homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies.  If any friend called her in need, she would drop everything to help them out or just be with them. As one of her friends told me, “She would truly listen and care.”  People remember her as “a sweet little girl with a good, kind heart”.  And she became a compassionate young woman. She truly loved us all!
Ruby was a natural beauty with an inviting smile and a laugh you could recognize across a crowded room. She emblazoned herself in your mind and in your heart without even trying.  She was unapologetically her own person, striking the balance between fierce and delicate, independent and vulnerable.  And we loved her for it.
A master of the English language,  understanding at a 12th grade level when she was in 4th grade. And so, she was drawn to music… all those captivating lyrics.  She could hear a song one time and sing it and treasure it forever after. (She had a beautiful voice!)  This love of music transported her into the realm of musicians and she became friends with many good, local artists.  She was such a wonder!
Recently she had discovered a passion for cooking, making jewelry and for math. A good student, she was excelling at them all! I told her she should write a cooking blog… Everything she did, she did well!
Those of us close to her knew that she struggled. Ruby tried, and mostly succeeded in hiding her pain and depression. But it was always there, waiting to suck her down.  She had accepted her bipolar diagnosis and reached out to professionals a few years ago.  It was a bumpy ride with more therapy and new (very exspensive!) medications.  She was doing better with her demons, and sometimes even great.  She was trying so very hard!  She wrote about her struggles in her blog post, sharing her story with honesty and love. Many of us gained strength and understanding from her poignant words.
A friend shared her understanding of Ruby’s illness and said “the instability becomes too overwhelming, exhausting, confusing, shameful… and she just felt she’d had enough.”  We know that Ruby has finally found herself some much deserved peace and rest.  But she surely has left a giant hole in our hearts! We will always hold her close.  In her own words:  “We mourn [her] loss, yes, but in turn we celebrate the living [she] did. And… oh, how [she] did.”
If you would like to visit the website of cattermolefh.com her friends have posted many photos of our dear, sweet Ruby. You can also leave condolences at that site. Thank you for visiting there.
“[S]he came like the wind, Like the wind, touched everything, And like the wind was gone.”
-Marsha Pipes