My frequent visitors may recall, my friend’s Mom died December 23,  2010. I wrote a post on Dec. 8th, as my friend, Andrea HT, headed to NC to be with her Mom before she died. No formal memorial/burial took place immediately following the death of my friend’s Mom. She and her Dad decided to wait for warmer weather, brighter and more colorful days to remember the life of Valentina Hartford.

Part I
Recently, my family and I returned from Hillsborough, NC, the location of the memorial celebration. The word ‘celebration’ follows the word ‘memorial’, because the purpose was to celebrate the life of Valentina. The celebration took place on a farm off Highland Farm Road. Though the gathering took place in the middle of June, the weather was pleasant.

The heat and humidity that seems to be a constant during the summer, eased its grip on this particular day. Pop-up thunderstorms, another common occurrence in the summer, were non-existent, and the farm offered a picturesque setting, complete with a rustic barn and a worn red tractor in the pasture. Continue reading “Untitled in Two Parts” →