A wonderful lady died today

 I got a text today alerting me that one of my mother's oldest and dearest friends died this morning.

Her name was Anita Vance. 

I shouldn't have been surprised because, you see, Anita was 100 years old. I had been preparing myself for this day but even so, the news stopped me in my tracks.

And then the tears came.  It felt like she was my last thread leading directly to my mom. 

Anita and I stayed in touch after mom's death 3 years ago.

I called a few times but her hearing loss robbed us of quality conversation.

And then . . . . I got a text one day.  From Anita!  At the age of 99 she learned how to text!!!

The first few were interesting in that she seemed to have adopted the "Uncle Ray" (my mom's brother) style of texting.  No punctuation.

I began sending her pictures of things and places we'd been to - sunsets, birds, our new house, etc.

She always responded.  Texting her appreciation.

I took advantage of this new communication a while back to let her know how much staying in touch meant to me. I knew this online friendship couldn't possibly last much longer.  I'm really glad she knew how important she was to me.

Her last text to me was August 27.  She praised me for appreciating the beauty of my surroundings and included a dancing heart emoji.

A dancing heart!  I don't even know how to do that!!!

She and mom were very, very different people.  They talked about their differences often and those discussions brought them even closer over the years.

I'll miss her very much.  

Where's the Kleenex???