It had been a long time!

When my oldest was born, I never felt the loss of my mom's death more deeply. The minute this little baby came into the world, I was dumbfounded at the depth of my realization of what a mother truly gives.

So my quest was to find the woman whom my mom had asked to be my Godmother 38+ years earlier. The closest I could come to a mother who was an only child. They were best friends through high school and beyond. I had little to go on, "Auntie Mary Lou" had long since moved west and remarried. All that I knew was her husband's name was Vito and he was a pit crew boss back in the late '80's out in Vegas.

It had been nearly 25 years since I'd seen her, and had only most recently spoken to her when I'd called to tell her of mom's passing 20 years ago. Memories of this wonderfully open-hearted woman with long flowing auburn hair, and her white pressed uniformed shirt, badge and holstered gun are vivid! (She was, at one time, a Cook County Sheriff's Deputy!)

It took me nearly 8 years, but thanks to this very platform that brings far to near, I found her on one of the school reunion sites. I read a new entry on their high school page one morning back in July, immediately pulled up a pay-per-use information site and $14.95 later, I had a variety of phone numbers & addresses for her & her husband.

I called several and hit the jackpot when Vito answered the phone. After asking a few questions, he had a few for me, then he gave me her number at work. When she answered, I asked if she was sitting down, and she replied: "Who died?"...

We talked for nearly an hour. It was like I'd just called her last week, except that we had a lifetime to catch up on. Back & forth we went on, her telling me of their life and that of her 6 children, me on what's happened since Jennie left us. They still live in Las Vegas so I told her that the first trip my husband would be making out west, I'd be tagging along. This past week, I did just that!

I cabbed it from Caesar's out to North Las Vegas & couldn't get into the community gate, so I walked into the clubhouse...spoke to a woman at the counter, and saw Mary Lou stand up and turn around behind her. We laughed & cried for a few minutes, hugging and looking at each other. One of those reunions you read about in the women's magazines!

Just before Christmas, she told me they had found a small but malignant tumor in her lung. She's been treated with Chemo & Radiation ever since, so the beautiful hair I so colorfully recall had been taken away--but the effervescence of her personality was shining through. She is vibrant and heartwarming, full of stories and advice. She is blissfully married to a wonderful man whom I've come to know on the phone, and also couldn't wait to see.

I spent the afternoon with them and later, with Jeff, met them for dinner at their favorite steak house away from the strip. It was a fabulous night together, and they welcomed my husband just as they did me, a few hours earlier. The evening was over all too soon. Vito hit a video poker game on the way out and won a few bucks, she and I waited for the boys outside the casino.

We planned to meet up for lunch on Saturday before I returned to Chicago, but our schedules didn't mesh. On the phone that morning, we spoke of how grateful we were to have each other again. The photos I'd brought were a trip into our pasts, and it was breathtaking for me to hear her tell the same stories mom had done over all those photographs so many years before.

I eagerly look forward to getting back out west in the next few months. Next time, she'll be over her treatments and will be full of the energy that has left her, for now. I know she will be that bubbly and over-the-top woman I've come to know and love again!

Even in the midst of adversity, love and the beauty of life triumph. I'm grateful to have been given this chance to share my mom's granddaughters---her legacies---with her friend who so welcomed us into her heart all these years later. It had been a long time, but it didn't feel like that...at all.

Like spinning the big roullette wheel, eh?

Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts...

I haven't figured out why you should yet; but I'm hovering at the edge looking over and it seems an appropriate line to open with.

This is an experiment in will, skill and thrill. Hang on~ we'll see how far I can take it.

I can't promise daily posts, I can't promise weekly posts. I can promise, I'll write.

If you find the time, check back...I just might surprise myself!

Welcome aboard, I hope you enjoy the flight!