I align the drill with the next screw. I freeze at the etched letters engraved right into the wood above my head. My vision clouds as I trace the annotation. It’s jagged like it was done with a sharp knife, but the handwriting is unmistakably my mother’s. My little knights, Love with all your heart and show kindness in all your actions. Mommy I trace the words with a trembling finger. It’s been years since I heard the phrase, and it hits me like a punch to the gut. My mother lived by her words in every single one of her actions. She spoke them to us every morning before we went off to
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