She Will Always Be Missed...

One of the things about losing someone close to you is that you really never stop thinking about them or wanting to share things with them. When my big sister called on what would have been our mother's 85th Birthday, it made a sad day better. And we talked about the things we just had to tell Mom.

I wish my mother could have lived to see today, and many years beyond. I wish she would have been healthy. I wish I would have seen her before she died. Those thoughts will always be there, but they're there along with the memories of a remarkable woman that I got to call Mom.

My sister and I have matching silver glass candle holders. We get them out and light a candle for special occasions in memory of our mother. As my sister and I hung up the phone tonight, I pulled my holder out of its little drawstring pouch, placed a new tealight candle inside of it, and lit the candle.

Lighting the candle produced a large flame that blazed above the candle holder, framed by a circle of dark smoke. A strange picture, but it needed to be captured. Besides, it might be that Mom just wanted to be a part of the conversation - and maybe even have the last word.