When my mother left this world, I was heartbroken.
A piece of my heart left with her.
I traveled to my hometown to say my last goodbye.
I joined the painful family reunion – my father, my sister, my relatives, my childhood friends.
I wanted to keep a souvenir from Mom.
She used to wear a dark green dress when she was young.
It had a beautiful palm tree print that reminded me of a stormy night in Florida.
There is an old photo in my family albums from the seventies,
When my sister was a preschooler,
And I was not even born yet.
Mom wore the beautiful green dress in this family photo.
She kept this dress over the years,
Even after she stopped wearing it.
Decades later the dress was still in her wardrobe,
On a hanger,
As if she could never part with it,
Almost like a wardrobe heirloom.
Even my sister wore th