Valentine's Day - the Bitter and the Sweet

Valentine's Day has always been bitter sweet for me. The sweet part was meeting Mr. Honey and getting engaged on Valentine's Day and still being in love after 38 years of marriage.

The bitter was taking my only sister to the hospital on Valentine's Day 32 years ago and losing her to a brain tumor just 5 days later. She will be gone more years than she was alive this coming Saturday, but there is not a day that goes by that I do not miss her.

Below is a photo of Nonie dressed up for my wedding...she was my only brides maid. I still remember how she looked that day, so happy for me and there to support me as I took a giant leap into adulthood. It meant everything to me that she loved my soon to be husband and gave me her blessing.
Nonie was always my protector growing up...I think she thought at times that she was raising me, despite the fact, my mother was always in charge. I grew up feeling like I had two mothers. It feels natural for me to think of her now as my own private guardian angel.

I get a little blue in February. I was really having a bad week, missing both my mother and my sister something terrible. I've only had a few dreams about my sister since she passed 32 years ago, but last week, when I was really missing her, I had a dream and she came to me in my dream. I knew in my dream that she had passed on, but she looked as alive in my dream as she did at my wedding. She told me she knew I missed her and she wanted me to know how much she loved me. The dream was over in a flash, but I didn't wake up wishing I could go to sleep and continue the dream. I woke up deeply comforted. It doesn't take a lot of faith for me to believe she is watching over me, I know she is.