Personal Message

My mother, at 64, died much too early. She passed away late Saturday evening/Sunday morning. It struck me last night that this is the first heartbreak I’ve ever had without her to talk to.

I won’t have posts for a few days, obviously. My brain isn’t really functioning - my heart’s on overdrive and the brain is numb.

I did want to say one thing. If you have the incredible fortune of having a parent still living - rather than in Heaven waiting for you (where both of my parents are) - call them and call them often. I was looking through my mom’s calendars and journal looking for medical information, and something stood out to me. There were some days when the only thing written as an entry were, “Talked to Joi, she’s….”, “Talked to Brittany today, she said….”, “Talked to Miss Emily…(Not sure why, but Em was always Miss Emily.)”, or “Talked to Stephany. She…..” Em, Britt and Steph are my daughters and her much, much beloved granddaughters - and each time she heard from or talked to one of us, it was important enough to her to write it down. It meant that much. As God as my witness, if I’d realized that then as I do now, I’d have called my mom every single day.
If you’ve gone through this unbelievable pain, yourself, I know that you’re familiar with this pain. If you haven’t - give Mom a call. And a hug. Maybe send her flowers - It’d make her year. She’d tell every friend, family member and even stranger that she got flowers from her son/daughter just because they love her.

One last thing, I’ve said it before: You never know when the world as you know it will fail to exist. The people around you are vulnerable and as fragile as baby’s breath. Keep your relationships warm and loving. Tell people you love that you love them. You only think you’ll have forever to do so.

-Joi