Dear Sara. . .

Dear Sara,
There are so many memories that make me smile.  There are so many memories that make my heart ache with missing you so much.  Maybe this time of year makes me miss you more.  I miss competing with you while watching Wheel of Fortune when I come home from work.  I miss thinking of what we'll have for dessert before deciding what we'll have for dinner.  I miss your laugh, I miss your smile, I miss hearing your voice, I miss talking to you on the phone.  I miss you on our road trips. . . every time I walk into a public restroom and see the handicap stall I think of how much we laughed while you were in your brace and couldn't bend your leg.  (difficult and frustrating at the time - but at least we laughed!)

I often call you on your phone, just to hear your sweet voice say, "I can't get to my phone right now, but leave a message and I'll call you back."  It helps somehow.  I think of you in heaven, laughing, because of course you can't get to your phone right now!  After a long day at school today, I got in the car and pushed speed dial #6, just to hear you for a moment.  Apparently all of our phones have had some kind of technical overall (I remember having to redo my voicemail last weekend), and your message was gone.  Just gone.  I know you are probably saying. . . . "It's time mom.  It's kind of ridiculous that you have been paying for my phone for almost two years, when I don't need it anymore."  I know that's true, and I suppose God knew it had to happen that way or we would never have been able to cancel your phone, but oh how my heart hurts. 

So, instead of a phone call, I'll write you a letter on lined paper.
Love you so much,
Mom