Dear Mimi,

I write this letter exactly a month after you passed away. I cry as I write this letter, but not because I am sad. I cry because I am so grateful that I had the honor of knowing a woman as wonderful as yourself.

People keep telling me that grief fades with time, but I cannot imagine missing you any less than I do now. I can’t imagine your memory fading in my mind, and I know that I will never let it. You’re a piece of me that will always be there, every day, until I join you in the next life. You taught me love, kindness, and compassion; you shaped the person that I am today.

I loved hearing the story of how I slept with you every night as a baby and how I would hold on tightly to your arm. I loved seeing the ways your eyes lit up when you told me this story, smiling because it was the foundation for the special relationship that we would always have. I wish I could hear you tell the story one more time.

I know you haven’t left me. Every day I feel your presence. Every day I see you in the sun shining through the clouds. I feel you in the wind. I hear you in the birds chirping in the early morning.

Mimi, I want to thank you for the wonderful eighteen years that we had together. I will cherish them always. I will never forget the huge impact that you have had on me, and I am proud to be your granddaughter, today and every day.