I was only thirteen when my mom died—gone in an instant, leaving behind a world that suddenly felt cold and empty. One moment she was there, laughing and humming as she baked her famous blueberry pie, the next,
she was gone. Yet even in her absence, my mom left me with something priceless—a wedding dress, carefully cherished and sealed away as a promise of a future celebration of love that, for me, would honor her memory.