Interesting Legacy

I still miss Jayne (my sister-in-law who died Monday, Oct. 17, 2011).

It’s interesting to note what things bring her to heart and mind.

• The gold throw in my TV room that somehow goes perfectly with the sort of orange walls and under which I snuggle to read or watch The Daily Show.

• The garden ornaments she gave me: the glass flower, the little metal dragonfly, and the spinning rainbow flower.

• The little teapot and cups that she gave me when I still lived in Chicago.

• The pillar candle decorated in Japanese-style artwork featuring a beautiful white crane. (I keep it on the plant stand in my entry way.)

• And Mexican food.

I never liked Mexican food before Jayne died. But almost every time I was with her husband or sons or daughter-in-law or granddaughters during the whole process of her dying and her funeral and the holidays that followed, we seemed to wind up having Mexican food. I began to develop a taste for it.


Yesterday, on my own, when I had all kinds of options, I deliberately went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I ordered something I had never before eaten. And I enjoyed it.


In memory of Jayne.