When my mother died I received endless messages that said, “Please let me know if you need anything.”  I never did. Not once.  Not once did I call for help when I was paralyzed by grief and unable to do simple and ordinary tasks.  Not once did I message for help when I couldn’t figure out how to breathe when the air felt different in…

To the mothers buried beneath the earth and risen above the clouds. To the mothers reduced to dust and ashes. The ones that left too soon.  To the mothers loved fiercely and missed with a magnitude greater than the sun and the moon and the stars.  For the great ones, the beautiful ones, the ones soaring on angels wings or intertwined with the graceful breeze.…

She’s almost double digits so the complicated nature of her emotions and expressions run deep. She’s mad her latest request has been denied. She wants a phone. She’s not getting one. You can imagine her nearly ten-year-old disgust at our answer.  It’s bedtime and our nightly traditions continue, despite her disappointment. I hold her baby brother as I charismatically sing our goodnight song. As I…

We sit here talking about the upcoming holidays. The ones that are full of excitement and new memories for most people.  Mother’s Day.  Grandparent’s Day.  Days to celebrate people.  Days that can sting if those people are no longer with us.  I hug my children tightly as we continue our conversation. They have tears when they talk about their grandmother. They miss her. Just like…