Your journey through life was difficult, yet full of love, strength and hope.
The choice to hold on forever or let go was never in my power to decide..
You happened to be my gift, so delicately intertwined with strength and love.
Some pieces of me left with you on that fateful day, and some of you will forever remain in me.

Now, I write to mend my brokenness and find the courage to breathe again after you stopped.
That, sweet mom, seems almost impossible some days.
I have been given a burden that exceeds my strength and understanding.
How can I leave you behind when you never once left me?

This is our parting as mom and daughter, or at least how we always knew it.
Instead of walking side by side in this life, I now trust you to watch over my life while I live in the legacy of yours.
Death, love, and finality all have completely new meanings to me.
June the 9th will forever be etched in stone to create a final chapter to such a beautiful story.

Many days I feel the need to lay down my shield and surrender to the pain of grief.
Grief is not really a stage or stages for me, It is life’s harshest reality manifested into emotion- the loss of someone you love.
I will never be the same.
It is life-changing, but do I really want to be?

It feels like pain.
It feels like agony.
It feels like an aching hurt.
But, most of all, it feels so bad that it almost feels good. At least I am feeling at all.

The day you died mom, I found a new part of me called grief which carries a rawness of emotions all entangled with love, loss, and heartbreak.
Pain has silenced me on many occasions throughout this journey, and my sincere hope is for you to know I miss you and pray I am making you proud!

I cherish the words you left me in my letter; “Keep me in your heart and our love will last forever.”
Mom, my life has changed completely in a moment, but I choose to believe that the beauty of love does not have to be seen to be felt.
Peace will come, hope will endure, comfort will be found and love will remain.