Aimee

This is Aimee, with her son, Mark, and his son, Joshua, in 2011.



This is for my friend Aimee. I only know Aimee through facebook. She is the mother of my son's friend, Mark.

One year ago today, Mark's life ended.

I went to Mark's funeral, but was unable to bring myself to speak to his mother that day. Her pain surrounded her like a veil -- as did her friends and her family -- and I didn't want to intrude.

Dominic hadn't seen Mark for a couple of years, but several days before he died, he stopped by. I wish I had given him a hug. Mark was my friend on facebook. His timeline is still available, and on it, I can read the most beautiful prayers and reflections that Aimee has written. Through reading those words -- words that come straight from a mother's heart -- I feel that I know her.

I know I am going to meet her soon. I will give her the biggest hug, and I may cry.

Aimee is so much more than her pain, though. As hard as it is to imagine that one can ever find a way to smile or feel joy after losing her child so tragically, Aimee is a joyful person. She has a wonderful, bizarre sense of humor, which, I can now see, her son inherited from her.

I can see from photographs what a beautiful woman Aimee is, but without ever seeing a picture, I would see her beauty in the things she writes and shares.

I am thinking of Mark today, of course, but mostly I am thinking of my friend.