Recently I celebrated a birthday— the third since my mother’s passing in a motorcycle accident. The number of milestones met in her absence gradually grows; New Years rung in, promotions, births, heartbreaks, more deaths. My hospice patients bond, dwindle, then pass on. Events tick by, dizzyingly. About four years ago, my mother found her husband […]
They say the middle child causes the mother the most grief. I’m not sure that’s true, but I know my mom struggled with me through a lot. We struggled together, for each other and over each other. As I got older, we became best friends, equals, and mirrors of each other. The struggle, for my […]
My mother was a fierce one. She created a cohesive safety and unity not only for her biological kids, but also for those she adopted and protected along the way. Where she saw a need in any of the kids in her vicinity, she made sure they were taken care of. She stepped in for […]
She’s been laid to rest at the foot of Mount Timpanogos, but visible traces of her are still all around me. What does her legacy look like? It looks like the pink granite, peony-engraved headstone Karl had made for her. It looks like what she wrote in lipstick on the bathroom mirror before her last ride: […]
My mom was always adamant that the children in the family got baby photos taken. She was keen on marking milestones that way. She and I talked a lot about the things we planned to do to mark Jameson’s growth, who was born just one month and two days prior to her death. So, one […]
I want to preface this post with a note that how I was feeling when I wrote this was through one stage of grief, when I felt like I was as low as I could get. These feelings have ebbed and flowed since I wrote it about a month and a half ago. Before […]
My mom was always smitten with her Grandmother, A. To her, A was the epitome of class, grace, and grandmotherly warmth. She loved how my grandma traveled, how she was a devoted wife especially in times of tribulation, and how she carried herself. When they were in the same room, their giggling made it clear how […]
