A little prose for the loss of my Claudia.

Woodland Pond oil by Claudia

Seascape oil

Floral Oil       Seascape oil      Cottage Embroidery

Seascape oil

Birds embroidery

Parrot embroidery

Parlor Setting embroidery

Potrait of a boy oil

A poem to Claudia Stoddard Winebrenner.

One whose loss leaves a hole as big as the sky in my heart. She was a woman of incredible beauty both inside and out.
She was an artist so talented that she sold several paintings including commissioned paintings.

She had a beautiful singing voice, and played the piano, she even taught piano for a couple of years.
She loved to cook and bake, and was so very, very good at it. I learned a lot about cooking and baking from her.
When she could no longer stand up to do her beloved oil painting, she decided to start embroidery, which she did. Her embroidery work is exquisite, lovely, and indeed salable. I have many, many of her works framed and hanging on the wall.

She was an excellent seamstress and loved making clothes, especially for our daughter. She also made her own clothes as nothing off the rack would fit her.
For more years then I can count, Claudia would get up before I did and fix my breakfast for me. In addition, she would fix me a lunch, which, I must tell you was the envy of all my fellow workers.

She wanted a child while I really didn't want another one, as we were already paying child support on 4 children by my first marriage. As you already know I loved Claudia and we had a lovely, wonderful daughter Elizabeth.

Claudia wanted to do this even though the Doctor's said she should not get pregnant. Her chances of surviving the pregnancy was only 50%. As it turns out she did almost lose her life, but she made it and she made a wonderful mother.

We raised our daughter Elizabeth that we cannot be more proud of. She is married and raising two wonderful children, a boy and a girl.

Claudia suffered from migraine headaches that would incapacitate her as would her monthly curse, yet she fought through them and continued to live life with zest.

She loved her family, as they loved her. Then after surviving one the severest cases of polio, as a child, that I have ever seen, she is then, as an adult, struck down with Post Polio Syndrome, which is all of the horror of the original disease returning. It is an insidious, ultimately fatal disease which finally took her life on September 1st 2011. She continued to fight and conquer the pain and agony of Post Polio Syndrome for over 20 years before succumbing,

And here, once again, is how I feel about her. God Bless you darling.

I cry for her beauty,
I cry for I miss her,
I cry when I listen to her special song,
I cry when I think of her love,
I cry because she no longer lies by my side,
I cry because I am alone,
I cry because I cook alone,
I cry when I can't reach out an touch her,
I cry because I miss her.
I lose myself in reading because I am so alone,
I lose myself in sleeping because I am so lonely,
I weep for my loss,
and I rejoice that she is no longer in pain.
God Bless you darling,
as you dance by Gods side.

written by Victor Winebrenner.

 Negotiate, propitiate,  and situate,

we give of ourselves,

we forgive ourselves,

we love ourselves

I continue to wear my wedding ring, as I cannot bring myself to remove it, it just hurts too much. Wearing it keeps her close to my heart. I only wish that I could hold her close to my heart. Losing her leaves a hole where my heart used to be.

"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"