My "dear lady..."

People come and go in our lives...people we dearly love. There is a time for mourning but we have to move on. Our life here on earth is short - too short in fact to dwell on any one thing. But every once in a while a memory floats back into our mind...a tear totters on the edge of our eye lid and once again we find ourselves enraptured in a sweet memory of a moment past.

Dear lady, this is for you:

Endless, countless piles of treasures...my goodness, each day with you was a new adventure. So many moments of laughter that i love to go back on over and over again in my mind. Remember that time i fell into a pile of your things and created the epitome of a "the domino effect" and we laughed so hard that i couldn't get up? Or that time we came upon a nest of ants and before i knew it i was on my hands and knees killing them with a fly swatter as fast as you were with your bare hands? Somehow you got me to do things i would have NEVER done in my life, but somehow when i was with you...it was just natural. Gardening and pulling endless weeds, watching the wind blow across the lake, crafts, and sewing together those quilt squares...Or remember chasing rainbows in bare feet? And that time we planted ten-year-old seeds and they never came up? Ok, so i guess i didn't inherit your green thumb. You had a way to make things grow...and boy did they grow!
I loved taking walks with you...it was like a nature hunt and every plant was new and beautiful. You taught me how to stop and enjoy God's creation. I will always remember lunches on the deck, watching birds, and those cats...yes, those stupid cats. As much as i hated them, when you were no longer there, they became my secret companions. Remember when we found all those fancy dishes and had a tea party with hot cocoa? And remember how we would devour quilting magazines? We had so many ideas...yours were practical and mine were unrealistic, but you told me i could do anything, and i believed you. I still do. You made me feel like a "one-of-a-kind precious person." And when your body failed and your mind disappeared...you kept smiling. Smiling and hugging were what you did best. If I spent the day with you, I was bound to laugh - I loved your sense of humor :) Family is what you loved...that and helping others. You have taught me more than you ever imagined...about life, about keeping house, about love - not only how to love myself, but how to love others. unconditionally.
But my favorite memory is a hug and a "i love you" at the end of everyday. i live with no regrets but only cherished memories that i would do again in a heartbeat.