The Little Reminders

Ever since I have known her, my stepmother had an affinity for owls. There's a collection of them in the den at my dad's. If you have ever tried to go looking for something that someone collected, you know that it can be difficult sometimes to find either one they do not already have, something that's 'different', etc. We lost Teresa in June after a battle with cancer. It has been devastating to all of us. The diagnosis in and of itself, a year ago this month, was a shock and then to lose her at such a young age was even more so.

Anyway, back to the owls. Over the years at one point or another, we have all tried to add to her collection from time to time. However, owls can be surprisingly difficult to find. When she was in the hospital on her birthday, for a chemo treatment, my husband, sons and I actually found a little candle holder that was an owl. Believe me! We snatched that thing up quickly! After she died, all of us have noticed that we seem to find things with owls on them, hear them around more, etc. I think it is a combination of the fact that we are more in tune to them now than ever before because they remind us of her AND that it is a sign that she is still with us even though we can't see or touch her.

We didn't think a lot about this until other things were mentioned recently, but back this summer after she passed away, Chad and I noticed that there was an owl somewhere nearby our house. We would hear it every night. It went on for quite some time. My sister-in-law realized that you could also find them on clothes and other items more so than ever before. At Christmas, she found our niece Madison a pillow shaped like an owl's head. Then one day she was in a store and found several owl ornaments. She bought them immediately and gave each of the families one at Christmas. This little reminder will always be cherished. In fact, when we took our tree down, our owl did NOT go in the decoration box to be stored away in the attic for another year. It went into a glass cabinet with other keepsakes that I like to display. Teresa's youngest son, Jonathan, went hunting just before Christmas. He said that there were numerous owls 'hooting' all around him while he was there. He said it reminded him that she is still with him even though he can't see her.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. This one was bittersweet for our family. It was my nephew Brady's first Christmas but it was also the first Christmas for us without his Gammie. Hold on to your loved ones a little more tightly this year and never forget to let them know that you love them.