UPDATE:

Sadly, Judi passed away Tuesday morning in her home surrounded by her family. She has asked to be cremated, and so her family has decided to have Celebration of Life service at the end of July. They are currently seeking a location that is large enough (yet intimate enough) to hold all of the people that would like to attend the service. More details to come…

And if there is anything that I think Judi would have wanted us to learn from her life, it would be to not hesitate to tell people you love them, whether it be friends, family or a stranger, because people only regret not saying it enough. And that in her mind, we were all 10s… on a scale of 1-5.

Judi – you were an 11.

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As spring is slowly turning into summer, and our thoughts are moving to spring cleaning, activities for the warmer weather, and ways we can enjoy our time with our loved ones, things are also changing at Posies…

Many of you know Judi, our storytime reader on Wednesdays, biscuit maker on weekends, and loved by all who walk through our doors. Judi has a very raw love for people, especially children, that cannot be described – only felt. And it is because of that unconditional love that she has exuded to so many of our children that I felt it important to share, though so very difficult for me to even write, that Judi has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Tears are splashing on the keyboard as I tell all of you, our loyal friends and customers, that Judi’s condition is rapidly declining, and as she has been getting weaker over these last four weeks, she no longer has the strength to come to Posies for her ever-energetic stories, songs and dancing that she does with the children. Nor can she do her magic with biscuits, or run to the front to ask anyone if they’d “like anything from the showcase…” My heart has broken seeing her normally busy-bee of a body with an “oh, frick…” whenever she dropped something, now hunched over in pain, with tears in her eyes. I didn’t know if or how to share it with everyone, but I’m also realizing the importance of allowing others time to process, so here we are.

I promised Judi that I would share with all of you just how very much she loved being a part of your lives. She has always felt it a privilege to be able to get to know you and your children and each of their little personalities. And if we had allowed it, she would have delivered all of your biscuits on roller skates while singing. She has long said that her family at Posies came into her life at just the right time, and that she found more joy being with all of you each day than anything else. And finally, her brother Sam asked that I share with you that if all of her wishes were to come true, she would get to be at Posies and do storytime forever.

Judi has been apologetic, even in all of her pain, with the idea of abandoning Posies, or storytime, or even biscuit making. But, Judi, if you read this, I wanted to write this to also reassure you that while you are completely irreplaceable, we all want nothing more than for you to rest easy and assured knowing that the love you felt for all of us is returned ten-fold to you, and you are not abandoning anything or anyone – you’ve been a light in our lives, and we only wish to wrap you in our warm embrace of unconditional love and comfort for as long as you need.

You cannot know what you’ve meant to me, and the community at Posies.

I love you, and we love you,

Jessie

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