I got into my car in the parking lot outside the barber shop the other day. There it was — a single autumn leaf, perched gently upon the windshield, just smiling at me. I sat there, enveloped by the warmth of the car’s interior on that otherwise brisk November afternoon. I embraced the moment. What made this experience so special? Some might scoff at the idea, but I had an overwhelming sense of my mother’s presence at that moment.

I had a similar experience of Mom’s presence earlier this evening. I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook posts when I noticed a quote by Maya Angelou. It was a quote with which I was unfamiliar. I read it several times. What made her words so special? Some might scoff at this, too, but I had another unmistakeable sense of Mom’s presence.

Angelou’s words were simple:

“My wish for you is that you continue.
Continue to be who and how you are,
to astonish a mean world
with your acts of kindness.”

My response might best be summed up in the insightful quote by Dag Hammarskjöld, former Secretary General of the United Nations:

“For all that has been, thanks;
for all that will be,… Yes!”