It's been twenty-five years, Mom. I love you. I miss you. I wonder what you would make of the person I've become, the life I've created. (Parallels. Divergences.) I am so fortunate to be able to get up every day and work toward a better world. A world that you will never see, which I will also very likely never see. A world I think you could perceive only in barest glimpses, but one you set me on the path toward. I'll think of you at the beach today. I thought of you when I gave my soul to the ocean, when I left our home forever. I thought of you when I found the river, and allowed it to find me. Remembering is what we have. And if we're very lucky, continuity is what we can create with what we have. The work is the true memorial, but I also have this, a few meager words to lay gently in the ether, instead of flowers on your grave. #insteadOfFlowers #grief #death