9/11 will forever be... remembered as one of the saddest days in American history. Exactly 3 years after that tragedy was another sad day for my family. It was the day my mom was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer. She fought valiantly, but succumbed to the disease exactly 13 months later on October 11.
At the funeral, mom had 5 pallbearers – her sons. My brothers and I had decided that since she carried us into this world, we were going to carry her out. She lived a hard life here on earth. At age 59, God said she had suffered enough and that it was time to come home. Knowing this gave us much peace, as we shouldered the responsibilty of taking our mother to a better place.
When I returned to the office, some friends gave me a tree to remember her. My kids called it the Grandma Tree and we decided to plant it in a special place in our backyard. Well, my skills as a gardener are at the same level as Roundup, so it was no surprise that the tree didn't grow much over the next few years.
Then one day my kids noticed that Grandma Tree had these beautiful purple and white flowers. A couple of days later, I was mowing the yard and stopped to reflect as I looked at the flowers which were now growing prolifically on Grandma Tree. At that very moment, I realized the significance of this event. The day my family first noticed the blooms was October 11, exactly three years after she died.
I love you mom.
At the funeral, mom had 5 pallbearers – her sons. My brothers and I had decided that since she carried us into this world, we were going to carry her out. She lived a hard life here on earth. At age 59, God said she had suffered enough and that it was time to come home. Knowing this gave us much peace, as we shouldered the responsibilty of taking our mother to a better place.
When I returned to the office, some friends gave me a tree to remember her. My kids called it the Grandma Tree and we decided to plant it in a special place in our backyard. Well, my skills as a gardener are at the same level as Roundup, so it was no surprise that the tree didn't grow much over the next few years.
Then one day my kids noticed that Grandma Tree had these beautiful purple and white flowers. A couple of days later, I was mowing the yard and stopped to reflect as I looked at the flowers which were now growing prolifically on Grandma Tree. At that very moment, I realized the significance of this event. The day my family first noticed the blooms was October 11, exactly three years after she died.
I love you mom.
