June 13, 2010
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Her name was Dolores but I called her Mom
I was doing a google search this morning for my best friend in high school. We went through so much together and have only had sporadic contact over the years. I wanted to find her again and see how her life is.
When nothing came up on her, I tried her Mom... and found her obituary. She died on July 4, 2008. That made me so incredibly sad - she was an amazing lady. She took me in, no questions asked/no strings attached, when I ran away from home at 17. I lived there for about 4 months while I finished high school.
I think what makes me so sad is as an adult, I never went back and thanked her for everything she did for me. She showed me that not all Moms were insane, abusive and drunk (that was my world at 17) - she loved me and took care of me like one of her own. I called her Mom for all the years that I knew her and I have so many warm memories of her. She was Venezuelan and seemed so exotic, which fascinated me. I loved listening to her stories and just the sound of her voice.
Her obituary says "We all share in the loss of a unique, gracious and elegant woman who touched our lives indelibly by being who she was". That description is so fitting... she was all that and so much more.
I feel that same loss today and it makes my heart hurt.
