This month marks my mom’s passing.

17 years.

How is this possible?

I vividly remember my last visit with her. The laughter.

My last phone conversation with her.

The last words spoken between us…. ’I love you…I love you too’

I didn’t realize either would be the last.

As odd as it sounds, sometimes I forget that I can’t pick up the phone and call her.

Heaven knows, she wasn’t perfect.

But then again, neither was I.

She was at the beginning of the age that women stood up for their own.

I learned more from her than I care to admit.

I remember calling her once and saying, ‘I’m sorry Mom’. Her response? ‘What did one of my perfect grandchildren do?’

We laughed because she was right.

I have often wondered what she would say if she were around to see the changes that my life has taken.

My hope is that she would be proud that I stood up for myself.

I don’t think I have ever fully understood just how much that what she did was for her two young daughters and not necessarily for herself.

Do we ever realize what our parents do for us?

I think I am safe to say that that answer is ‘no’.

The truth is, I don’t think we ever realize just the depth of what our parents do for us until they’re no longer around to do what they have always done.

Love us.

I miss you Mom.

I hope that I have made you proud.

And again…

I love you.