Dear Kathy,
I think of you often, whether it's when I'm folding a king sized, fitted sheet which you taught me how to effortless manage, or when I am wearing my cozy LL Bean robe that you sent to me in December of the year I was pregnant with Liam with a note that simply read "For cold nights up wih baby"...
I share memories of you with the boys often so they can hold in their hearts your thoughtful nature, your practicality, and your tireless motivation when it came to getting things done. How very much I miss all of these things.
I thought of you again, just the other day, when Jason and I were reminiscing about when we first met in college and I would hang out at his apartment after he'd left for class. I'd sneak a few peanut butter and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from this mysterious shoe box lined with waxed paper. After a while I had eaten so many that I tried rearranging them in order to disguise their depletion, but ended up having to confess, worried he'd blame his roommates! And so many months later while visiting you and Judi in Syracuse, tasting those same cookies, freshly baked, and how it instantly transported me back to Jason's college apartment and the red, waxed paper-lined shoebox. I thought, at that moment, and for the many years that followed, when Judi and you would carry in from your Toyota Camry a box filled with tins and tins of those homebaked delectables, "THESE are the COOKIES!"
My memories of you are many and come so easily - often unexpectedly, but are always welcomed and bring a smile to my face while at the time a pang in my heart, for you are so very missed by all of us...