Nana's last birthday call to me
This is last birthday message my nana ever got to leave for me. She didn't understand cell phones or voicemail or anything, so my Aunt Cate had to coach her. Her name was Rosemary, so the song Rosemary's Granddaughter always reminds me of her, and is eerily spot on in the rest of the lyrics. Nana was always on my team.
Ethan
My best friend and chosen big brother died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2016. When we were in high school, he introduced me to the video game series "Fallout." As we grew up, new games were released and while he was an expert on the original games, I became the expert on the new games. One night while in college, I was having sex with my then-boyfriend when the phone rang. Seeing it was Ethan, I immediately stop to answer – not just because he's family, but because every interaction with him was so spectacularly insane I knew whatever he was calling about would be memorable. He was calling to ask a question about Fallout 3. 🤦🏻♀️ This began a hilarious and uncanny streak of him just happening to call me while I was mid-intimacy. For no one else would I ever interrupt sex (good or bad) to answer the phone, but his calls were always the better entertainment. He left me many crazy voicemails in our long friendship, but this is the only one I still have. I'd trade anything to get one more phone call from Ethan, the most magnificent bastard to ever grace this planet. Impossible to forget, impossible not to love. I miss you every day, my brother 💜
My E-ticket friend
I love this man more than I can say, and he was more fun than anyone I have met before or since. We didn't work out as romantic partners, but we stayed friends until his death…OK, in some weird way, we are still friends; death just isn't that strong. After he passed away unexpectedly, I saved all the voice mails I had not deleted. I listen to them every now and then. None of them are anything special, but they are all reflective of who he was and our friendship.
Health Affirmation from Mom
My mom was a minister and used to have us do affirmations in the mirror when we were little. When she got sick and would feel down, I would remind her to say the affirmations she taught us. This is only prayer I have for me from her recorded from one of the times I wasn't speaking with her.
Hope Everything Is Going Your Way…
Six weeks and one day after my Dad died, my Mom joined him. They were soulmates. I was sitting in my childhood bedroom when she called out from the kitchen, "where is Daddy?" A few weeks later, I was 3,000 miles away talking to a resident doctor about her terminal cancer diagnosis. Taking care of him kept her alive, and without him, she began to fall apart. I wouldn't say she was my best friend – but she was my Mom and the best Mom a daughter could need. I miss her with every ounce of my heart and time has barely lessened the pain of losing her. On my way back to be with her, I spoke to her on the phone – she didn't really know she was dying yet…the cancer had metastisized to her brain and she wasn't really *here* anymore. I told her, "sweet dreams!" And she said to me, "I will dream of you."
