The 4th anniversary of my mom's death passed two days ago without fanfare. A couple weeks ago Kelsi and I shared a tearful conversation where she spoke of the sadness of not being able to remember Gigi. As time passes, it relentlessly erodes at her memories. Hearing my eight-year-old daughter be able to express the bittersweet pain of this inevitability is a beautiful dagger that pierces my heart.
We all miss Gigi. Going to Craig even four years later still is a hollow experience. I can see her shadow all over the town, and it makes me a little sad to realize that, like with Kelsi, this community she loved so much is slowly forgetting her.
I try to practice the same things I counsel others. I deliberately try to remember mom in her vitality, not in her death. I see her best qualities in my brother and in my children. I recall with fondness the genuine affection that developed between her and Kelli over the years. And I close my pensive moments with the hope-filled expectation that we'll see each other again in heaven, because her faith (imperfect as it may have been) was solidly and solely in Jesus.
Here's a link to mom's Denver Post obituary, and after the jump, my funeral message. I've posted both of these here to preserve them. I thank God for my Mom, Georgina Marie Horgas McAnally.
