What words to say...

I have put off writing this for several days.  I know I should write things down while they are still fresh in my mind, but it is very difficult to do that when it is something that causes pain and heartache.  I have known tragedy in my life.  I have already written about some of the terrible things that have happened.  As I write this, I realize that it is much easier to write about them after many years have gone by.  The memories may fade and be harder to recall but so too does the pain fade and become harder to remember.

The children and I drove down to my mother’s house on the night of Sunday, December 10, 2000.  We went to bed right away so we could get up early.  We were heading off to the United States Supreme Court to demonstrate during the oral arguments of Bush V. Gore on Monday morning.  We spent the day in D.C. and visited the U.S. Capitol building and the Canon House Office Building.  We delivered tea bags to Representative Tom Delay.  It was a very interesting day, but also very tiring. 

We were supposed to return home to Pennsylvania Monday night, but I was very tired and afraid I might fall asleep while driving.  We decided to stay one more night and return home Tuesday morning.  The kids were all tucked in by 10 o’clock Monday night.  My mom, my sister Terry, and I were sitting in the living room watching the news and talking.  We were anxiously awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court.  I mentioned to my mom that Emily wanted to stop by Maria’s shop to say hi before we left in the morning.

Maria is a good friend of the family.  She and my mother had shops in the same building when the girls were babies.  She is my spiritual friend.  We used to talk to each other for hours when I was working at my mom’s shop.  We spent Christmas together at her house one year and had a great time.  Her husband, Tony, helped us move when my husband Cris got out of the Army.  She and her family have always been generous and giving.

Maria and I have a lot in common, including the fact that we each have five children.  My youngest two are less than a year apart and her middle two are just about as close in age.  I love her as a dear friend and I have missed spending time with her.  Although we have not kept in touch very well, I think of her often.  We recently stopped by her shop to say hi, but she was not working that day.  We left a note with our address and telephone number on it and said we would stop by the next time we were in the area.  It was November 1, 2000.