Yesterday a friend who recently lost her mother after a long illness told me that it has been extremely difficult to adjust to the loss. She finds herself distracted, and there are moments when this loss overwhelms her. I listened without comment for quite a long period of time before I responded because there are no simple words that can heal this situation. However, I do know that in time the love and joy that her Mother brought to her life will revisit her heart on many occasions. My parents are gone but never forgotten. They appear at so many moments, and their memories fill me with the wisdom and love that they brought when they were physically here.Her mother is no longer present to her by phone or able to visit and play with her grandchildren, but she is resident in the memories and all the layers of love and learning that are part of her and the family.My father once told me they are never fully dead when we remember them. My friend will never stop remembering the one who gave her life on so many levels.