I see her now. She was 13, my little cousin. Come to visit us from Florida. She was sweet, reserved. I wanted to spend time together, but her older sister said no, she was not interested. So we older girls went off together to explore the trails and hills near my mother’s home.
I would see them every summer when they came to visit and it took many years before I understood she did not get along with her older sister. That is why we missed out on that time we could have spent together.
Many years later I came to visit them in Florida, and I met her husband and little girl. She met my son and husband. Over the years we slowly built that bond we should have had earlier.
She was bright, kind and the glue that held our family together. When she got sick, I took another trip to see her and she told me she would fight to live.
I believed her and together my friends, my family and I prayed for a miracle. We did not get one. We already had one.
She has passed and will join her mom and dad in heaven.
Looking back over the years, I realize again what I missed. Life is never long enough.
Mary was beloved by all, and in the end even by her older sister. You can’t replace someone like her. You just have to keep her in your heart and carry her with you.
Until we meet again cuz…
