I love you too...

thirteen years ago today I spent the day making sure dad had something to eat, even if he wasn't all that hungry. even if all he really wanted was for mom to wake up. it was a day a lot like this one. gray, chilly, and the day before Valentine's Day. which is why I made a run to the mall to find some gifts for Shawna and other family. which is why I wasn't there when she left us, and I will always wish I had been. neither here nor there. I have freeze-locked the moment she nearly yelled "I love you, I love you, I love you!" as they gave her some pain medicine that made her comfortable but also put her into a deep sleep for the remaining four days. I can't believe I missed "it"- her quiet exit from this side to the other, but I did. I didn't however miss her last emphatic expression of her love for us. she loved us, loved us, loved us. and she spent her life meaning it...