A moment of death is lined by life

A SLM conversation with Greg Pettit

(in spirit and memory of Mamie Brisker Pettit)

A MOMENT OF DEATH IS LINED BY LIFE

Silver Lining Moments:

a space for conversations, thoughts, and ideas that expand love and light

What do you do when someone you love, someone so full of life, suddenly and tragically loses theirs? I was faced with this question in May 2018. Or, more like it, this question punched me in the face and knocked me down in May 2018. In the days since, I searched for this answer --- in my tears, in photographs, in conversations with friends, in following my dreams, in my journal writing, in yoga, in moments of staring into space, and in my questions – Why? What for? What?!

But, let me take you 10 months before then. I was visiting my friends Mamie and Greg. Mamie and I were sitting on their patio having a good conversation about everything. I asked Mamie if she would be a guest on this podcast. At that time, this podcast was only an idea that had been brewing in my mind for a few years. Mamie didn’t question whether I would actually follow through with the idea; she was excited about it, believed in Silver Lining Moments, and believed in me. She said yes. It took me another 15 months – 6 months after Mamie’s death -- before I published the first Silver Lining Moments episode. I didn’t get the chance to have my Mamie on this podcast.

This left me feeling unsettled. I recalled all ways Mamie was a Silver Lining Moment in my life and all the reasons why I wanted her as a guest. Because of my delay and inaction, I didn’t get to share her light with the world. So, I asked Mamie’s husband, Greg, if he would be a guest on this podcast. With the same encouraging spirit as Mamie, he readily said yes. In this episode, Greg shares Mamie with us, how they followed their dreams, and his loss, grieving, and healing. By doing so, Greg made a wish of mine come true.

Now, my wish for you is that by listening to this episode:

• You get to know Mamie and how she lived fully, authentically, courageously, and, yes, LOUDLY;
• You feel the love she had for her family, her friends, life, and for THE Ohio State Buckeyes;
• You connect to this love and feel your love for, and love from, all the Mamies in your life;
• You revel in the love and partnership between Mamie and Greg;
• You are inspired and empowered by Mamie and Greg’s experience to live the life of your dreams even if it means taking the first step without seeing where the staircase ends;
• You see all the people who are Silver Lining Moments in your life -- just as Mamie and Greg are Silver Lining Moments in my life;
• Greg’s healing becomes your healing;
• You PAUSE, breathe in love, breathe out worry, RESET; breathe in love, breathe out love, JUST BE;
• You see how love and light truly expand…even after death.

LOVE AND LIGHT EXPAND

Photo Credit: Kathy Susterka

Mamie’s love has expanded even after her death through her family and friends. This expansion is in our hearts, our lives, and has manifested in many ways.  Here are just two:

Saving Lives with 5 Defibrillators: Through the kind donations of family and friends, Greg bought five defibrillators. These were donated to local clinics, a doctor’s office, a neighborhood that hosts both indigenous people and expats, and a local meet spot for all the expats that hosts plays and a Tuesday vegetable market.  In developing countries like Panama, places like these do not have defibrillators. Now five of them do.  They will save lives.

Empowering Lives with Scholarship Fund: Mamie’s sister, Carrie Brisker Purcell, created the Mamie Brisker Pettit Memorial Scholarship Fund through the Scioto Foundation. To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be a graduating senior at Minford and/or Notre Dame High School, have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 and show evidence of excellence in academics and athletics.

To learn more about this scholarship, go to Scioto Fund’s Facebook page at:

To donate to the Mamie Brisker Pettit Memorial Scholar Fund:

• Click on the Donation Page https://p9.secure.hostingprod.com/@sciotogives.org/ssl/donation.html
• Under Select Membership/Endowment Fund, scroll to new funds for 2019 and select Mamie Brisker Pettit Scholarship Fund

So…what do you do when someone you love, someone so full of life, suddenly and tragically loses theirs? LIVE YOURS.

From my conversation with Greg, I discover how:

a moment of DEATH is lined by LIFE.

Thank you for listening to Silver Lining Moments.

With Mamie’s spirit, by Greg sharing and by you listening, together we are:

expanding love and light,

one person at a time,

one story at a time,

one Silver Lining Moment at a time.