Patty

That's Patty, my Daniel's mother, dancing with him on our wedding day almost ten years ago.

She and I actually "met" for the first time on the telephone when Daniel was visiting me in Texas, November of 2001. From the first moment, she treated me with kindness and affection. We became close very quickly. She treated me not like a daughter-in-law, but like a daughter, and I love her for that.

Along with a lot of other reasons.

Patty was full of love and kindness for everyone. She gave of herself like nobody I've ever known. When she died in 2004, she left behind a phenomenal hole in the lives of many, many people who knew and loved her.

Including me.

She taught her son that dance they're doing in the picture. I stood on the edge of the dance floor, watching them, so full of happiness, laughing with delight.

I miss her. I always will.