It was Thursday night, December 2nd, 1993, and we just visited my mom at the hospital for what we didn't realize was the final time. My mom seemed a little more tired than usual during this visit, but we left not realizing that would be the last time we would see my mother alive ever again. It was the last hug we ever gave her. The last words we would ever get to speak to her.
The next morning, we were supposed to go to school, but woke up hours after we were supposed to. My dad was in the living room and he just put the phone down. He broke the news that my mother died in the middle of the night. There was no official goodbye. She was just gone and suddenly our house started filling up with family members planning a funeral. It all happened so fast.
My mother always bought Christmas presents for us early, and that year I was thankful that she did because that was her last Christmas. Technically she died before Christmas, so we didn't even get to spend that last Christmas with her. But opening her presents three weeks after she died was like a bittersweet final gift she left us with.
And as weeks turned into months, and months into years, and now years into decades, I've learned a lot from her loss. The most important thing I've learned is to not take time with your loved ones for granted. Don't assume that you have all the time in the world to preserve memories or even make them. My mother died when she was only 39. I'm sure there was so much more she wanted to do with her life and with making memories with her loved ones-- especially us, her children. It's sad that she didn't get the chance to do everything she wanted to in life. That her time got cut short. It's sad to hear that many others didn't get the chance to spend more time with their loved ones either.
Take it from me, don't take time with your loved ones for granted. Each moment and each memory counts. Find a way to preserve all that you can as soon as you can. For families who lost loved ones when my mom was still alive three decades ago, we didn't have Reflekta around to preserve memories. But now you all have Reflekta and can preserve more than we ever could. You don't realize how fortunate you truly are. Don't take this gift for granted.