April 6, 2014 Every Step I take....I am Missing You

While in Florida, I thought I had lost my necklace with all the charms that remind me of Gracie.  I had actually just left it at the hotel.  I felt this was such a betrayal to Gracie.  How could I go on a family vacation without her? How could I forget my necklace that will show her that I have not forgotten her?  I needed something to show Gracie that I'm always thinking of her, that she is part of me and my family, that I need her to always be with me and never think for a second we've forgotten her.  I wanted her to know that every step I take I am missing her.  

She had signed Jeremy's birthday card just a week before she passed away.  I remember sitting at the counter with her.  She was sitting to my right and signing her name on his card with a pen.  Her tongue was sticking out (ever so slightly) as she wrote a backward, upside-down G.  Next, she wrote an "i".  I responded, "I didn't know you could do an 'i'!!"  She smiled and did another one followed by another backward, upside-down G which she filled in as an added bonus. Her little 3-year-old signature, that moment, that precious memory will forever be part of every step I take.