I attended my two seconds cousin�s baptism on Saturday. Someone mentioned that they were happy to hear that I�m going for my Masters. That caused a slight pause in the conversation when one of my Aunts said, �It�s too bad your Grandmother isn�t here to....� and then she trailed off. It really is my biggest failing that I didn�t get all this done before now, in order to have her witness my "accomplishments." The only reason I had no intention of walking when I got my B.A. is that she wasn�t going to be there to witness that moment.

Things just have less meaning when the most significant person in you�re life isn�t there to share them. It�s going to be five years since she passed away, and really the pain of losing her is always below the surface. It never lessens.

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