My mother-in-law, Amy
I met Amy at a heightened moment of her fierce mother-love. Her son Sean and I had just met and fallen in love, and she flew to Los Angeles only two months after we'd met to suss out the wheres and whys. Fortunately, our time together put her fears to rest. And I knew I was connected to a man with a wonderful mother. That is always a good sign.
Two years later, I was pregnant with our son, Jett. I remember when we called Sean's parents to tell them. We were so happy to share the news. We told them his middle name would be Michael, after his uncle, Sean's older brother, who died so young. We have always sought to keep Michael's memory alive, and our son has trained in tennis at UCLA, his uncle's alma mater.
I will never forget when Amy, Ed, and Jackie arrived to meet Jett for the first time. Sean picked them up from the airport in his old Volvo, and I was holding Jett and looking out the front window of our Silver Lake apartment. Sean pulled up to the curb, and Amy RAN up the sidewalk and up the stairs to meet her new grandson. I was laughing and crying at the same time. That fierce love was in full view.
I loved her and I loved the way she loved her family.
This may sound small, but one of the ways Amy stays with me is through her numerous gifts to me. She gave me so many stylish sweaters over the years that I would never own otherwise. She had an eye for quality and beauty, and as I shopped for Jett's suit to wear for her memorial, I had a sense that she was right there with me, for I found the perfect suit.
I will remember her in many ways, but one way is when she moved about her kitchen in her blue silk robe, and the two of us setting out breakfast in her Beaconsfield home. I will remember her playing on the floor with Jett, relishing every moment with him. She loved us so much. And I will love her to the end of my time, my second mother.