Dude loses his angel on earth...

...and gains an angel in his heart...and mine. Debra emailed me to let me know her mom, MaryAnn, who has been here many times to visit and gave sweet shy Dude a home, passed away unexpectedly last week.

MaryAnn and Debra were just recently here, and MaryAnn told a story of falling asleep on the couch in a Snuggie and waking up to find Dude had crawled up one of the arms to sleep against her chest, giving her quite a start (and giving all of us a great laugh).

"Dude has been a joy to my Mom and only wish they would have been spending more years together......Dude has become fond of my Dad as well.....he hugs my Brother every day and I know he will miss my Mom but will do fine with all of the rest of the Mosier Family. We love Dude and we are all sad and shocked."

I put away the candle I had been burning and took out a new one for MaryAnn, so I will be reminded of her over the next few weeks as this one flickers. When you live alone, there is no one to talk to honor the person's memory as you'd like to, and so all you have are your own thoughts. I've found that lighting a candle keeps my mind on those good memories, each time I look up, and reminds me to take a moment to send a small prayer to her family.



MaryAnn was always full of kindness and laughter. I'm so glad that Dude had her to coax him out of his shy shell.

Some of my readers may have met MaryAnn while she was visiting here. I'm sure she made you smile as well.

You can never spend too much time with people whose paths cross yours.