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Today I was musing with my friend Cindy, that a year ago marks the last time I saw my mother prior to her passing on November 26, 2010.\u00a0 Halloween weekend had me heading southward to sunny South Florida for what was to be a final period of laughter, sharing of\u00a0 stories, hugs and cuddles and chocolate<\/em><\/strong> with the woman who 52 years and two weeks earlier, had birthed me into the world. Little did I know at the time, that we were in the final stages of birthing her into her new life.<\/p>\n I asked if she wanted to go trick or treating and she said that she would rather that the\u00a0little ones\u00a0come to her. I suggested that we\u00a0dress in costume and she said she didn’t want to scare the kids.\u00a0 So, instead, we sat together with a big bowl\u00a0of mixed candy on her lap and with pumpkin colored bags on my\u00a0lap,\u00a0and scooped up handfuls and dropped them into\u00a0their containers. Later that day,\u00a0three of the neighbor\u00a0children came into the living room in their costumes,\u00a0wanting to spend time with this eternally\u00a0youthful kid in an old person’s body who they saw as a\u00a0surrogate\u00a0grandmother. I was delighted to\u00a0witness\u00a0that they\u00a0found her company to be as\u00a0sweet as, and more compelling than the treats she offered them.<\/p>\n We reminisced about the Halloween party we had\u00a0at my childhood home for which she sewed\u00a0pumpkin costumes for my father and herself, my sister and me, including hats with stems that tied under our chins. \u00a0We stuffed the costumes\u00a0with newspapers that rustled when we\u00a0moved. Green leotards and\u00a0orange\u00a0facepaint adorned our bodies and cheeks.\u00a0I thought it was the coolest thing to have a mother who was so creative.\u00a0 Even my dad got into the spirit of it, since he too was a big kid. \u00a0I reminded her of the year that Jan and I both dressed as Mary Poppins, complete with little parasols that we twirled and pretended could help us fly.<\/p>\n As I look back on that particular weekend, I realize that, even not knowing at the time that I would not be holding her hand or hugging or kissing her again\u00a0in this lifetime, I felt complete, holding nothing back, saying all that needed to be said. I am amazed when I consider how this year has unfolded, from her death, to her funeral, from handling her affairs to completing my book with her encouragement on this earth plane, to the ongoing support from wherever she is at the moment, to the opportunities to connect with so many kindred spirits, to the “Mom Miracles” and butterfly sightings that have occurred…I am simply blown away. Lest I forget…love lingers…and I am grateful~<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the sweet soul she will always be~<\/p>\n <\/p>\n