In Memoriam

It’s funny what a difference a few hours can make.
When I blogged earlier this afternoon, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and I had just finished cleaning my apartment. Everything was perfect. Only a few moments ago, the clouds rolled in, the thunder clapped, and the rain began to pour. Then, as if on cue, my phone rang. It was my sister calling with bad news. Our friend and my sister’s best friend’s mother had passed away. We all called her Meme.
She was an incredibly wonderful and beautiful person who took in my sister, as well as me, as her own. She was of Italian descent and always talked about the Old Country, but never once had the opportunity to come to Italy and for that I am sorry. I always did my best to tell her all the wonderful things about this place. The last time I saw Meme, was four weeks ago and she asked me to say hello to the Pope for her. She had been sick for the last few months and now she is gone and I hope, with her husband, her one and only true love, who died almost two years ago. I only new Meme for a short time, but I will never forget her, because she was so loving and so kind and frankly we had the same political views. It was so much fun to sit with her and bitch about the old administration while praying for this new one.
Thinking of Meme makes me realize that life is just too short. Tell the people you love how you feel, before it’s too late. You just never know when someone you love will be taken from you. There is no time to waste.
So, now I have opened a bottle of red wine and I am going to sit outside, watch it rain, and lift a glass in honor of Meme; everyone’s favorite surrogate grandmother. She will be deeply missed by so many!