It has been ten years since we lost Mom. September 12. It seems like the past ten years have been a lifetime since that day. I’ve moved, changed jobs, got married, had children and have a whole new life. I could never have imagined how much life would change.

I cannot forget those days though, and want to remember that although we miss her, Mom is in a better place. It is so true what they say – that your life is never the same after you lose a parent.

I want to express a little of what she was, not only to me, but to everyone she came in contact with. Mom was this amaz- ingly quiet driving force of nature. If you needed something or needed something to get done, all you had to do was ask (or sometimes just suggest it in passing). I have never met anyone quite like her. She loved so hard, but never let it show. It came out in her actions. She was our mom, our friends’ moms, town’s mom – she had a coat or mittens or a hat for any needy kid (or adult) in a 20 mile radius. You all know this already – but it’s nice to say it out loud once in a while to people who truly understand it.

She gave so much of herself, and never asked for anything in return.

What I love about my family is that collectively, we all have her traits. Jane has her generosity, Mark has her ingenuity, Paula has most of her everything, Joel has her resourcefulness, Julie has her patience, and I got her hair….how was she able to manage all of us and actually pass it on? I will always wonder and admire for doing what she did for all of us.

Mom, I miss you, and I hope you are still around, watching out for all of us and shining down the love that we all know is still there in our own hearts.

**I wrote this six years ago, and I just updated it a bit – it captures what I want to say today as much as it did then.