Hi Hon, are you there?

When we were clearing out Mom's apartment, we noticed she had many messages on her phone.  And guess what?  Most were from me....and almost all, exactly the same.  "Hey! It's me.  Are you there?"   "Hey! It's me.   Are you there?"  Over and over.   You see, Mom still had a landline and traditional answering machine.  And although she lived in a small apartment, she rarely had her phone with her.  So, most times, she WAS there, but just needed a little time to get to the phone.  My messages gave her the time she needed.  And her response..."hey, I'm here."    I can close my eyes and still hear her.  

Or...I can search voicemails on my cell and hear her.  "Hi Hon!  It's me."  "Hi Hon! It's me." Over and over.   We each always said exactly the same thing.  I'm not sure why either one of us felt the need to say who we were since I'm pretty sure we could recognize each other's voices.  And yet..."Hey, it's me" is what we said.  

As I listen to those voicemails, which I've done many times, I smile.  Although I can't hear her anymore in the earthly sense, there have been several times in the past few months that something would happen and it's like she was saying, "Hi Hon! It's me."   

In case you were wondering, I have no intention of ever erasing those messages.   When I have a bad day, which we all do at times, I'm going to play them all one after another.  Just to remind me that she's here, with me, always.