Nonni

You can see in her eyes a new wisdom that can only come from obtaining the knowledge that you will not be on this earth next year. She knows that she is going to die, and she cherishes every moment. In the big scheme of things, death is just another part of the circle of life. Yet as I live on and she withers away, I can not help but feel the intense tragedy of it all. When my family members cry on my shoulder I feel more than their wet tears seeping in to my skin, I feel a whole lifetime of memories.

I played her favorite songs last night, for Mother's Day. I played for her the Ave Maria, Bach's Air in the G String, and Vivaldi's Spring and Summer (adagio). When I finished I saw her wet eyes gaze at me with pride, and I knew that she had felt my love for her in the notes that I played.

Later that night as we shared an embrace, she told me to please "Be careful out there," to which I replied, "I am not going anywhere tonight Nonni."

She said: "I know, but please hear my voice telling you to Be Careful and to Be Safe anywhere you go, even after I am gone."

Her voice will never leave my head.