Give Thanks...For The Love Of A Mother And A Daughter

I didn't realize until later, but something happened, or, didn't happen on Friday, July 1st this year. You see, every year on 7/1 I would see a post on Facebook. Sometimes this post was expected, sometimes it was a surprise. Two days ago, someone else posted the reminder...

And it floored me.

You see, since 2007 on July 1st, I would pull up Facebook and a post from my sister would remind me of my mother's passing. She died fifteen years ago, July 1st, 2007, and my sister never forgot it. Each year on the anniversary, my sister would post a photo and include a heart-felt message to the one person in her life she loved more than anyone, the one person who she missed with her entire being, the one person she wished more than anything she could once again hold her hand and hug and talk to about life.

This year, I didn't see a post from my sister. She was unable to post a photo or include a heart-felt message. She could not express publicly how much she missed her mom. No, this year, the pain was doubled. This year, my sister's daughter had to post something from a year ago, the last time my sister could acknowledge just how wonderful a woman our mother was. This year it was my niece's turn to mourn.

For as long as I live and as long as social media continues to exist, I know my sister's daughter will do the same thing to her mother that my sister did for her's. She'll post a message of love, of sadness, of wishing the two could be together again. I'm grateful for traditions, of letting others know just how much each means to the other...too bad some of those expressions must come after one...or two...of them are gone.