Tonight, the 5th day of Kislev, I will light a yartzeit candle before we kindle the Shabbat candles to mark my mom’s yartzeit. 10 years ago according to the Hebrew calendar, my mom died. (Thanks to my amazing wife for the new yartzeit candle holder that we will use tonight for the first time and will continue to use to remember those we’ve loved and lost on their yartzeit and holy days).

I am struggling to wrap my head around the fact that 10 years have passed, a lifetime and an instant. My mom loved to sing and make music. She had an incredible smile and a generous heart. She was an incredible cook and I cannot think of one item that she ever baked, cookies and cakes were store bought or made by someone else in Jane’s house. She loved my dad, my sister, and me fiercely. Jane loved a party. She would hate Covid and would want you to wear a mask so eventually she could go back to travel, gathering with family and friends, and singing together. She was a talented knitter, an occasional reader, and she subscribed to People magazine. Jane always had fabulous nails, often painted red. She liked original chapstick. She liked the dress code “funky casual” and we liked to hold pinkies when we walked together. I am so grateful for the memories big and small.

I miss her.

Tell the people you love how you feel.

Mom, I love you and I always will.

Shabbat Shalom.