You will, I’m sure, pardon my absence this past week.

Yesterday my family and I came together to say goodbye to our Mother. It was the first time we had all been together in about ten years. We are siblings, yes, but in many respects, we are strangers, too.

Our once-large family has been decimated. Each of us has gone our separate ways, our paths seldom to cross. But yesterday we shared a common loss. Mother was the last of her generation of this family. And, due to our unshared lives, dreams, and hopes I can’t help wondering when, if ever, we will all gather again. The thread that held us loosely together has been severed.

Rest in peace Mother Norma Grace Wright.