Love remains the same....

What follows is the eulogy that the Empress (my 11-year-old daughter) gave for my grandmother--the Empress' self-described "best friend" and confidante for her entire life.  My daughter is very shy and does not like being the center of attention--so I was shocked when she stood up and spoke. It was an act of courage on her part--born of great love and pain.

I have typed it verbatim from the notes she wrote for herself, and I share it with her permission:

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Ammama was, and is, the most special person in my entire life. She comforted me in every situation--from falling and scraping my knee to much more important things. I can't even explain how kind she is to everyone she meets.


When I felt all alone, Ammama was there for me. In a sense, she was like my second mom. Ammama did so much for me, and I never really got to properly thank her.

May her soul rest in peace, and I hope that the day I die, Ammama will be waiting at the golden gates of heaven for me.

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I do not know if heaven really exists. No one does.

But this I do know--the love that can inspire a shy and brokenhearted child to stand up and declare it to the world is a love that will never die. That love has shaped who she is, and who she will be, and it will course through her, and through everyone she ever loves.

I believe that love is the most powerful thing in the universe...and it is born of the simplest of things--bandaging knees and singing lullabies and hugging all the hurts away.

My grandmother is gone, but the love remains.