...since my mom passed. This will make my third Mother's Day without her. We used to spend hours on the phone chatting and joking with each other--those calls kept me sane, and they made her feel less lonely. I've yet to find something to fill the void.

Mom always said I was her "talker"--when I was growing up we'd talk for hours, after my brothers had gone to bed. It was during those times that I felt closest to her, and those phone calls brought those memories back vividly.

My brothers didn't do that as much--they were much less inclined to talk about their day or about anything that was bothering them. I say to my friends now, only half-jokingly, that those moments we shared proved more than anything that I was more a daughter to her than a son. In the months before she died, I think she came to realize that.

I know of quite a few mothers to whom I can show kindness. It sounds like an excellent suggestion to me.