Upon the topic of wild rice soup brought us to a staple of one of my partner’s cherished memories. I had ordered myself a bowl at the Twin City Grill and loved it while Sam felt to mention his mother had a favorite spot they’d go to for that dish, it being twice better. I appreciate the way he allows me into his psyche and I thank him by imbuing our daughter, our boys and I into his prospective memories. A year after and I’ve penciled it into our itinerary for our MN trip. In this way I feel that I honor her by introducing their history into our daughter’s life so that she has an understanding of how important her grandma Ginny will always be to him, while cultivating our own unique and personal traditions that are meaningful to us. And most importantly to me, embracing exactly who she came from in order to form a strong sense of identity because her grandmother was a fine, virtuous woman. I learned second hand that those do not heal completely, never, even though I haven’t lived this kind of strife myself. It’s within these “full circle moments” that they learn to look forward to from which their loved ones live on. I watch his childhood videos and already my mind is making the connections of the type of woman she was. A strong woman, not said lightly, unafraid to defend her own and couldn’t care what others thought of how she lived her life; practical and down to earth. It mirrors in the way he brings me down to reality, keeps me on path. He’s my voice of reason. It shines in his intellectual sister, successful in what she sets out to do and willing to fight for her own. A commendable trait, safe in knowing she will bring justice if anything must come his way. And another woman my daughter can look up to. It all trickles down in the grand scheme of things, I can feel her memory now more than ever as I watch my daughter develop more into herself.