We’d decide not to go out to lunch after church because of the crowds.  After all, even the restaurants with less-than-stellar reputations are busy on Mother’s Day.  No, we’d cook some meat on the grill and perhaps even eat lunch the backyard together.  Mac would’ve shown her his drawing of a human eye or how he made Garfield even a little fatter in this picture.  Zac would’ve shown her his Hulk costume, pounding the earth as he shouted Hulk Smash!  And Lexi would’ve commandeered every moment, wanting again to sit on her lap and make the sounds of her favorite consonants and vowels, Pbttttt being a favorite during this season of development.

The kids are getting so big.  So very big.  And they love their Grandma.

Yep.  That’s probably what we’d do on Mother’s Day 2015.  Sometimes I like to think about what we’d do if she were still here.  The hope that lies within me is this: I’ll see her again.  Until then, days like Mother’s Day end up being in black and white — the greyscale of missed opportunity because of a loss that happened way too soon.