The Space Between

The Space Between
Your heart and mine
Is the space we'll fill with time
The Space Between...dave matthews band

My mother, Leah, and her sister were very close.  They built their houses across the street from one another at the end of a dead end road. My sisters and my cousins had a lot of fun deciding where to have dinner!  I was born 6 years after my middle sister and 11 from my eldest, so there was a large space between which we have spent the rest of our lives filling in with time, tears, laughter, support, and love.

My dad died when I was 3, and my mom remarried.  We moved to another city, but Leah and Ruth cared for one another as if there was no space between.  These photos were taken at the last party my mom had before she died.  All the guests posed in front of "little Leah," and I just love the off kilter photo of Aunt Ruth with her sweetie of over 60 years, my Uncle Bob.  Uncle Bob died a year before my mom, 11 years ago.

Aunt Ruth lives life with determination in the face of sadness and loss, and I appreciate that one of the reasons she goes forward  is that she filled all the spaces in her life by loving others through community service, dinner parties, phone calls, and unsolicited acts of kindness.  

I am grateful for the lessons I am learning from Aunt Ruth.  My sister moved away 4 years ago, and because of Aunt Ruth's influence, we filled in our space between to bridge distance with love.  

Thanks, Aunt Ruth for reminding me to "always have love in my life."  Perhaps, you can relate to this lesson in your own life.

my big sister giving me a lift