M J & E in 1953.

I have been wracking my brain all week in preparation for this post because today is the one year anniversary of my mother’s death.

I got nothing.

At work, my job is to solve complex questions and do that by breaking them down to their tiniest pieces and solving them upwards. In other words, every small solution is geared towards solving the bigger question. If the small answer veers away from the premise or the need, then it’s the wrong solution.

In matters of emotion, though, it seems there is no simple solution to complex problems or personalities. And my mother was certainly a complex personality, so much so, she was different things to different people. She was a loving daughter and sister, a passionate acolyte in her religion, a tireless advocate for less popular causes, and the most significant person I knew in my first 18 years of life.

It’s been said the mother shapes the boy and the wife shapes the man. In that, I was lucky to have a parent who taught me to appreciate a loving and lasting relationship. Twenty-seven years later, I am truly blessed to be married to the best person I’ve ever met. When it’s all said and done, that was the most valuable lesson I learned from my mother.

Thanks, Mom. And rest well.