DevilDawg wrote a journal about a sign when her daughter's dog, CoCo passed away. Well, this got me thinking of the signs I have had in my life.

When my first husband and I were first married, we lived in Cohoes, NY. There was a gift shop on Remsen Street known as Eva's Gift Shop. The owner was a very nice older woman and over the years, we got to know her really well. Her store was so awesome and she had a lot of really beautiful things in there.

The gift shop eventually closed and we lost touch with Eva. We found out that she was ill and had to close. We really missed her.

We moved to Sargent Street in 1989 and lo and behold, found out that our neighbor across the street, was none other than Eva. We were so amazed!

Eva ended up having cancer and being in the hospital. We went to see her every single day. When she got home from the hospital, she had to have chemotherapy. I would always make an extra plate of food and bring it over to her and she was so very grateful.

She ended up in the hospital again and during one of my daily visits, I noticed her eyeglasses were very dirty. I offered to clean them for her and you would have thought I offered her a million dollars. I cleaned her glasses and she put them back on. She said it was like being able to see for the very first time. Her joy brought tears to my eyes.

Eva never made it home from the hospital. Her daughter called one morning to let us know she had passed away overnight.

Rich and me were devastated. She was so much like a mother to us.

The girls were still young and went to school so, they did not go to the funeral although, they did go to her wake. Her funeral was held and afterward we went to the Eagle Mills Cemetery where she would be buried. Our neighbor, Janet rode with us as she was older and did not have a car.

We stood around the casket and listened to the words of the priest. I heard only half of what he said because I was too busy having my own conversation in my heart with Eva.

She was my savior in so many ways. And, she knew me and my face, my eyes and expressions. I could never get anything past her when it came to being troubled or upset about something. I could tell her anything and her advice was so knowledeable. She would get on Rich when he was out of line. And, he would listen to her! In fact, he stopped drinking after we moved to Sargent Street and she became an everyday part of our lives.

After the priest was done talking everyone started saying their final goodbye's and placing roses on her casket. They were peach as that was her favorite. We were the last ones to leave the casket and then went to get in the car.

Everyone was pulling away and when Rich went to start the car it wouldn't turn over. We were like, "What?" Janet said, "Hey, you two! Look over to your left! As we did, we saw that they were lowering Eva into the ground. We watched and cried, saying our final goodbye. Once we could no longer see the casket, Rich tried starting the car again...

And you know what? It started! Just like that, it started!

To this day, Janet and I talk about that and know that it was Eva's way of making us see her right to the very end.

The next couple of weeks were of me helping her daughter situation things in Eva's house. The final day came where she was going to be finished and I went over to say goodbye to her. As I walked in, I noticed several things still in the house. There was an electric fireplace, a few pots and pans, and other things. I asked her daughter why this stuff was not gone yet and this was her reply. "Mom told me that you guys were to get these things. You are a wonderful cook and she wanted you to have the pots and pans. The egg poacher is special too because you always made her the best poached eggs. Now, the fireplace she knew you guys loved and these salt and pepper shakers are especially something she wanted you to have. She knew how big you were about Thanksgiving." With that she handed me Eva's turkey salt and pepper shakers. I just started crying and her daughter hugged me and said, "Mom will always be in our hearts and we will always have a piece of her with us!" She was absolutely right!

I love you Eva and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of you.