Every year I'm haunted by December 7th. Blame it on my intensely sentimental nature.
My mother Marie had a sister named Ann (Mom was two years older). Ann was my cousin Nancy's mother (Nancy lives near me here in Tennessee).
Marie and Ann were extremely close their entire lives and, in many ways, they were very much alike.
Both sisters were from New Jersey. When my parents moved to California, Ann and my Mom were separated by 3,000 miles, but they still remained in very close contact: letters, phone calls. visits when they could.
Between them they generated a never-ending source of strength and support - sharing the good times, coping with the bad.
To me, it seems much more than a coincidence that they both died on the same date: December 7th.
My mother in 2009.
Aunt Ann in 2012.
Ironically they not only passed away on the same date but also at the same age.
I miss them immensely.
Marie (left) and Ann
Marie (left) and Ann
the last photo ever taken of them together (by me) in 1995
