I never knew my father’s mother, she lived in the midwest and I lived in the southeast. She lived to be in her early eighties. I never understood why we didn’t know each other but it became increasingly important to me to see her before she passed away. For several years before she died she and I corresponded by way of mail. In the late 1970’s the opportunity presented itself for me to drive through the state she lived in and drop by my aunts home to see her. My grandmother spent the last few years of her life living with her only daughter. Though we had talked very openly through the letters we wrote, I think our face to face visit seemed a bit awkward for both she and I. She sat in a chair across the living room from me while I sat on the sofa. There was a strange silence in the room as neither of us really knew what to say to each other. I didn’t stay long that day but I remember hugging her and telling her I loved her before we left. I felt a deep sadness as we drove from her house and started to head back to New England, where I was living at the time. Though she was my father’s mother, we knew very little about each other and never were we given the chance to bond in life. I felt sad that she never had the chance to experience the love I’m sure I would have wanted to give her. The ornament in the foreground of the photo was made by her and was sent to my dad not too many years before he passed away. I have several things that my grandmother made over the years with her delicate small hands. The ornament in the photo has become very special to me and every year when I retrieve it from my box of Christmas decorations I always think of her!