Sheri

I lost my mother in law this past week, it was not unexpected, but it was painful nonetheless, I pray that she found peace, and is now dancing with our other loved ones at this moment. It has been a rough time for all around her. I have watched my brother in law as he struggled with his role as his mothers caregiver and my sister in law lose her forever confidant. I have held my best friend/husbands hand as he watched his mommy struggle to take a breath. I watched my daughter as she yearned for her grammy, struggle to understand the entirely too big for her concept of death. I have held my son wishing he would know his grammy the way his sister did. And I have stroked the head of and put chapstick on the lips of the woman who I loved for bringing my husband into this world and appreciated for adding me to the list of her children.

I miss Sheri so very much, I miss her amazing retention of sign language, the way she reused her tea bags and her insane dedication to recycling every little thing. I miss her ignoring her pain and sleeping on our couch so that she could spend time with her granddaughter. I even miss her millions of email forwards.
I do not miss her pain, I do not miss her heartache, I do not miss her sadness and I am happy she is now in a better place (as cliche as that may sound).

If there is anything that the last few years, and especially the past week or so has taught me, it is to appreciate every day you have, not to look ahead to what is next but to enjoy what has been handed to you at that moment. This is what I would like to instill in my children, a belief that no matter how hard something might be, that it is part of the journey, and to appreciate the lesson.

I love you Sheri Marie Moore. Thank you for your lessons.