Boundless Grace

"At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent." Barbara Bush, Wellesley College, June 1990.

Mourning the passing of a singularly graceful person, former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Imagine Ms. Bush on September 11, 2001. In addition to the profound emotions of anger, horror and grief felt by nearly everyone world wide, her son - President George W. Bush - would be the person to decide what to do about it.

She was not a newcomer to politics. Her husband had been president during a war in the Middle East. George HW Bush was vice president during the largely successful but tumultuous Reagan years. He had once headed the CIA...

Through it all, she showed remarkable stamina. When asked for comments during the difficult years following 9/11 she was invariably supportive of her son, without beating war drums. Whatever advice she may have given stayed between mother and son.

So much has been written about her since she passed. Scores of retrospectives. meaningful quotes and anecdotes. It is tribute to her charm and wit that the bipartisan nature of her funeral is so unusual as to spark comment by the pundits. She was surrounded by her Secret Service detail, who refused to leave her side until she was finally laid to rest, who to a person remarked on her kindness, the lengths to which she went to make them feel valued.

She was once asked, during the Clinton years of serial sexual scandals, if she would find herself the target of similar rumors.

"Oh, I hope so," she responded, laughing.

Fare well, and thank you.