my babies have been so fortunate...

to have known so much love in their life ~ something that has always been important to me is makin' sure they have an appreciation of those that came first... the lessons of the generations before us are vital in growing compassionate... understanding... loving people... during their lives they have been blessed with not just the love of their grandparents... but their great-grandparents minus two great grandfathers... have been a large part of their lives

they have heard stories of a time when... telling stories around the dinner table was the entertainment for the evening because there was no tv... they understand that a very large part of who they are comes from a land far away and have heard the tales of what the journey to this country meant... what it cost ~ and not in dollars... these woman are beautiful... they are strong... their humor is infectious... their beliefs... their will...

today i got the news that they lost one of these amazing women and i sit here broken hearted... the woman who truly raised their father... his grandmother passed away yesterday ~ such a great loss for them and for me... when she first heard that our marriage was over she hugged me... kissed my cheek and said 'Lori... I don't divorce anyone.'

i haven't told them yet ~ one of the benefits of living so far away is that i can delay the pain... i will tell them soon but it will devastate my daughter as she so much loved her GrammaDora... 'You know mama she says good night to us each night as she passes our picture on her way to bed' ~ there are so many difficult things you have to do as a parent... but i think this is the hardest... especially when you are hurting so much ~ yet you have to try and be strong for them because they need you to be

She was truly Loved... and She will be missed... Godspeed... GrammaDora