Thank you to everyone who reached out with words of comfort and inspiration regarding Mom’s passing. If you haven’t heard back from me yet, I’m still working my way through the emails. It’s hard to believe it’s already been four months since Mom passed. Her 92nd birthday would have been on Thanksgiving Day. My oldest daughter and I made a batch of pizzelles in her honor. It just seemed like the right thing to do. We laughed when we thought about how “Grandma” loved to correct and critique the pizzelle making process and Heaven help us if they came out too brown!
It’s important for us to share stories about a person who touched our lives so deeply, and no matter how many tears flow, there’s always another story about Mom that makes us laugh. Like when I was cleaning out one of her drawers and found a small gift box similar to the sort you get when you buy earrings. There was a rubber band around it (Mom loved her rubber bands and organization!) And guess what I found inside the box? A pair of white shoestrings, each wrapped with a rubber band. I will be pondering that one for a long time. But little stories like these—and there are several—helps us deal with our grief and remember what a very special person she was. (I am definitely hanging on to that box with the shoestrings for not-so-happy days.)
The memorial service and “celebration of life” haven’t happened yet due to COVID-19. When we are able to schedule them, it will be the first time my siblings and I are together since Mom’s passing. More tears for sure, but more laughs as well.
