click your heels three times...

Today is Father’s Day. All in all a typical Father’s Day for our family. We had a bar-b-que at my sister’s house. My dad came down for it. Just an afternoon of talking and eating. It was much like all the other Father’s Days in so many ways, yet very different at the same time. Even though it was a day to celebrate fathers, we all had one thought going through our minds today and that thought was the memory of our Mom. It felt weird to be celebrating anything when she has only been gone for two months now.

When shopping this morning for a gift for my dad I decided to also get my niece, Isabella, a gift. I found a pair of little ruby shoes just like the ones Dorothy wore in The Wizard of Oz at Marshall Fields. I had to get them. The made me laugh hard. Of course Isabella loved them. She had to wear them right away. It was quite a sight to see little Isabella, only 18 months old, running around the house in ruby shoes. Just click your heels three times and you will be home again. Nice thought, isn’t it.

This evening Isabella was looking at her little photo album. She has some pictures of her and her Grandma (my mom). She always kisses the pictures. This is strange given the fact that Isabella never kisses anyone…except her little friend Alex, who is 6 months older than her. Isabella doesn’t even kiss her parents much at all. But, she kisses her pictures of Grandma. Melissa asked me if I had the big 8 X 10 picture of our Mom here. I did. It was in my room downstairs. I went and got it and Melissa showed Isabella. Isabella immediately lit up. She smiled ear from ear and grabbed the picture and kissed it. She must have kissed it a hundred times. She just kept looking at it and kissing it. It was such a precious moment yet also tragic beyond words. I just sat there and cried. My sister cried as well.

I just wish we could all click our heels three times and be home again.