She cried the first time she read it, then read it a second time aloud, breaking down again. In language simple and honest, Matt thanked her for having been a kind mother, saying that although he knew San Diego had been the right choice for him, he missed her very much and loved her very much, even if he never told her so. Mom’s tears that day were joyful, like the tears she cried when we sang “Happy Birthday” to her each year. I cried too, but only much later, when I realized how little she had asked of the world, and how even that had been too much for the world to give.
