The theme song to the movie Flashdance was playing on the radio. I view Flashdance as one of the cheesiest movies of the 1980s, but the retelling of this story would move my mom to tears. She also thought that Dr. Zhivago was one of the most romantic movies of all time; I however, missed the romanticism. It must have been Omar Sharif’s brooding good looks that was the appeal. Flashes of these memories are with me quite a bit as I often think of my mom who passed away a little over two months ago.

Her death has been one of life’s many lessons. Life has a way of surprising us. It puts our preconceived notions about orderliness and structure of life right on its head. I was not expecting her death, and when I last saw her, she did not have the look of a dying person in…