thursday

It's coming up on the 6th anniversary of my mom's death. She was a beautiful, intelligent, strong woman, who's life ended too soon. There are times when I can't believe she is gone and other times when it seems like she has been gone forever.

We have had a lot of death in our family over the past few years. My mother, my aunt, our dog, Paul's brothers and uncle. It is remarkable how someone can be here one minute and then not be here the next. I was with my mother when she passed away. I feel it was a great privilege to be there. There was something sacred about it. She was there when I took my first breath and I was there when she took her last.

I miss her. I wish that she was here now while we are going through all this stuff with the inlaws. I wish she was here to see my kids as they get older and move on with their lives. I would love to be able to ask her advice about all the stuff I am going through. I wished I had asked her more of that when she was alive.

So the lesson for today is, don't take today for granted. Tell the people that you love how special they are to you. Ask advice. Share a story. Listen. Listen before you realize that you can't.