Why I Love The Armorer

....and how I miss Mama Kelley.

His post today "I know you don't need a shoulder to cry on..." was about someone I didn't know. But his words touched me -
...but if T needs to take a nap, or change to a dry shirt, you can use mine for a while.

I'm still not over the loss of my mother. It's a pain that fades to an ache, but it's still there - and will pop up at the silliest times, for the silliest reasons.

But then you realize that that's good. It's how they stay with us, impishly popping out of our memory to surprise us. On their terms, not ours. They are our 'rents after all. They have that right.

And it makes you smile. Mebbe a little wet around the edges of the eyes, but still, you're smiling.

So I wrote in the comments -
When I was 11 we moved one street over to live with my grandmother. My grandfather had been gone for a few years and she was struggling to hang onto the house. My parents and my grandmother decided we would move in with her and we would rent out our own house. This worked out with very few hiccups until my grandmother passes in January of 1999. So, as you can imagine, she was a great influence in my life.

My sisters and I speak of her and quote her so often that frequently people think she is still alive.

My parents came down to the family cottage for their two weeks recently. I stopped in the store to pick up my mother's favorite candy. My hand was on a bag of snack size Milky Ways to pop in the freezer for Mama Kelley before I remembered.....

And yes, my smile was a little wet around the edges.

Thanks John.