Symbols of

The nursery filled with new baby furniture and baby shower gifts including a plaque that read

Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that is what little girls are made of.

All symbols of a sweet and innocent life just beginning.

The canopy bed, the beautiful collection of dolls and the three speed bike were all symbols.  Symbols of how her parents adored her and how fortunate they felt to have been blessed with a daughter after years of failed pregnancy attempts.

The puppy was a symbol that everything was going to be okay now that Dad has moved back home and they were a happy family again.

The slightly used Honda Prelude was a symbol of faith her parents had in her after a rough teenage year of bad report cards, arguments and broken promises.

The High School Diploma was a symbol of years of homework, studying, arguing with parents and wonderful teenage memories.

The photo of her daughter with her best friend since elementary school with her High School Diploma was a symbol of what years of hard work and a last-minute panicked call from Mom to the Seniors High School English teacher who wanted to keep her daughter from walking in the graduation ceremony over a couple of points could earn.

The long white dress with the train and veil that flowed in front of her face and down her back was a symbol of while not completely innocent she had waited for her wedding night to give herself to her husband completely.

The most recent bruise on her face was a symbol that after three years of marriage nothing had improved.

The new job, new home and newest pregnancy were symbols to her that she should give this marriage another chance.

Her eight year old son being shoved and sliding across the kitchen tile floor after trying to protect his mother from his Father was a symbol that it was time to protect her children and to leave her husband after 10 years of marriage.

The other six women who attended her first domestic shelters weekly meeting were all symbols that she was not alone.

The cockroach in the bathtub, the missing blinds in the window covering and the loud music at 1 a.m. in the middle of the week are symbols that beginning a new life for herself and her children would not be easy.

The two short failed relationships after her divorce were symbols that her focus and goals should be some where else.

The dark circles and weight loss were symbols of stress from long work hours, over due bills, late nights with ill children and an abundance of college homework.

The college degree was a symbol of her desire and dedication to her children, her chosen career and to herself.

The creative memory albums not quite completed and the overflowing manila envelopes filled with photos, artwork and report cards and letters with children print are symbols of a family loved.

The second promotion in as many years was a symbol of a job well done.

The pink bracelet and pink mug that she drank her morning tea from were symbols of her fight against the cancer that took her Mother and threatened a year ago to take her too.

The second mortgage on her house was a symbol of her effort to get her daughter help for her addiction.

The license plate frame that read VOTED BEST NANA IN THE WORLD was a symbol of love and life going on.

The gold wedding band that she continued to wear as a widow after her 2nd husband of 12 years died in a car accident is a symbol of undying love.

The retirement party that not one loving family member, dear friend or long time fellow co-worker would have missed for the world was a symbol of respect.

The garden filled with colorful flowers and the sunshine on her back are symbols to her that life is good.

The head stone that read;

In Loving Memory of a Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Friend
Your Courage, Strength and Love will light our way

A symbol of a life well lived.