Ruth M. Bickell

Dearest Mom, Thinking of you and how you held on until 88 for us. Thank you so MUCH for that. It´s been six years now and the sting of losing you isn´t as sharp as it once was, though I´m pretty sure we all think of you most days, miss you all those days. We still talk about missing your birthday call with the musical candle, and letting the milk go bad to make buttermilk pancakes. Katie´s baby girl, Soleya,is three now and is a little dynamo. She rides her bike at 3 like she thinks she´s...

Dearest Mom, It´s 5 years ago today that you passed to the other side, yet from where I´m sitting, I can see the pamphlet we created for your memorial on my desk. And that´s how it is-memories of you are all around our homes and you are on our minds and hearts always. None of us would ever want another Mom-only YOU will do! Same with your grandkids-Joey talks of you often, Paul recently made your buttermilk pancakes in memory of you, and Katie made your chocolate chip pancakes for little...

That´s you, Mom, in the front row, right. I´m guessing about 10, but I have no way to tell for sure. And then there´s your guys carrying your casket to it´s final resting place. Just think! I´ll be resting right next to you sooner than later. :) And I felt like you asked for that heavenly view given us as we headed back to AZ. When I saw it, I knew you were at peace, and it helped me to find a little, too. It´s not that I don´t know that we all come and live and then go back to the other...

It's two years tomorrow, Mom, since you passed. For your children, the pain of you not being here is still very raw; and your grandkids and all the other family and friends think of you often and send notes to us every now and then to make sure we're okay.
Time goes by fast--I've already made you two birthday presents since you passed--I hope you can see them from the other side. I will make another every year on your birthday and hang them all together by your picture. They do comfort...