I wanted to take a moment and place a very special memorial on my site for the people I've lost who meant the entire world to me and who are now gone, but never forgotten. 

When I was a young girl, one of my mother's favorite songs was Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark by Dolly Parton which is a song about a little girl who dies and her mother who keeps an eternal flame burning for her. One of my mother's worst fears was death and I think that was why vampires held such a dear place in her heart. When I was a child, I remember the way we'd stay up all night together watching Creature Feature, Fright Night, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery....you name it. There was nothing she loved more than the paranormal. Some of my fondest memories are sitting at the breakfast table while we both ate Wheaties and read Tales from the Crypt or the Dark Shadows novels. 

My mom gave me my love of all things that go bump in the night. She never censored what I watched and together we watched such movies as: The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, Salem's Lot, all versions of Dracula, Carrie, Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, Fright Night, Chiller, you name it. In particular, she loved Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee. I'm probably one of the few people who hears Michael Landon and instead of thinking of Little House on the Prairie or Bonanza, thinks of his role in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.

She was a wonderful mother and I talked to her almost every day of my life. Distance never mattered.  She was the strongest human being I have ever known. Married at sixteen, she gave birth at age seventeen to a daughter with severe Cerebral Palsy. A daughter they said would never walk and who would most likely not live past the age of eighteen. My sister Trish was still living with her when she passed away. Trish is 53 and she walks to this day because my mother refused to not try.

When I was eight, my father left us. Alone, my mother struggled to feed all of us and there for a time, we were separated. My brothers were sent to Atlanta while Trish and I stayed with her while she worked day and night. But she couldn't stand the separation and so we all moved to Atlanta 18 months later.

It was there we all lived in a tiny little house that was far too small for us and yet somehow we managed. My mother bore her burdens with grace and at times with sarcastic vinegar. She was a true character who kept her children safe and who guarded us all like a lioness.

Until that cold winter night in 1987 when we both lost a part of our hearts. I will never forget the sight of her leaving the house at 4:30 am to get into her car to go to work. I was watching her from my bedroom  window when I saw the police car pull into the driveway. And when the officer uttered the words that echo eternally in my head, I saw her stumble for the first time in my life.

As bad as my brother's death shook me, I can only imagine how much worse it was on her. I always knew how much she loved us, and Buddy's death left a lasting tarnish on her smile. It was the only time in her life her courage faltered.

Over the years, I saw her deal day in and day out with my sister Trish, even while my mother battled cancer and numerous surgeries. My mother was a fighter. She was a trooper and she was a lady in every regard.

I miss you, Mom, and I only pray that I am able to live my life as courageously as you did. You gave me the greatest gifts: life, love and the ability to imagine the impossible. Thank you for being "silly" enough to call my pretend dog even in stores where people thought you were a lunatic. And thank you for all those late nights of movies, popcorn and scary stories. 

I will always remember Halloween and how you loved it. I will never pass by a Christmas display without hearing your laughter. And I will keep all your beloved dolls safe and sound, just as you did. Even though I still think they come alive at night and do evil things :)

I love you, Mom, and I only wish I could say it to you one more time.

Mom at graduation	Mom at Christmas
Me and my Mom	My Mom at my wedding