Death is a greatly overrated experience. I hated Mother's and I'm not looking forward to my own. Apart from the sorrow there are the bills to be paid. Nobody dies for free.

When Mother died I was both freed and abandoned, as are we all at this profound juncture in our lives.

No one remembers her beginnings. Mothers and aunts tell us about infancy and early childhood, hoping we won't forget the past when they had total control over our lives and secretly praying that because of it, we'll include them in our future.

Mothers have a habit of proving right except you don't find that out until you're the age your mother was when she gave you the advice.