Between Loss of Family and Myth.

It's February.

My mom's birthday was this past week, had she still been here, she would be seventy. She died when she was fifty-two. I'm forty-six, so that seems quite young-- in fact, it seemed that she was really young when she died.

I have a son who is six. I find myself placing a hand on his forehead when I enter or leave the room. It's a sort of reassurance, probably more for me than him. My mom did the same thing to us kids. Even when she was sick, her hands felt warm. I remember that wa...