wrong about the empty chair

In the end, our table at the Bavarian Inn was a "four-top," as they say in the restaurant industry: it seated four, and four was the number of family members in attendance. There was no empty fifth chair; our table had no room for Mom.

Amid the happy chatter of families and the clangor of plates and silverware, we four guys talked, laughed, and enjoyed our food. But I'm pretty sure that each of us, in the solemn silence of our minds, imagined a fifth chair at our table, and in our imaginations that fifth chair-- far from being empty-- supported a tiny, delicate woman who shone with love for each of us, basking in our light even as we basked in hers.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.


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