Two times now, a piece of me has left leaving a crushingly empty space in my soul. I guess I thought I was familiar enough with grief that this wouldn't be that hard. But, it is. In a way, it's comforting for me to know how difficult this grief journey is for me; it means I really did intensely love my mom, that she really was an integral and permanent piece of who I am and who I will be. That for as hard as our relationship felt at times,
