This Mother's Day will be the 8thyear I have spent without my own mother. She _ less than a month before Mother's Day in the year 2000. She had been ill for almost two years, and I didn't cry when she died, or at her funeral, but on that first Mother's Day without her. On that day, I realized that this person I loved and depended on was gone forever. She still lives in family memories, in the thoughts of her friends and co-workers, in the values she had instilled  in her children, and in the lovely flower gardens that she had so carefully tended. She loved her gladioli and irises. Each fall she would dig the bulbs out of the soil and carefully wrap them in paper. The bulbs would be stored until the following spring when they would be replanted. It seemed like a lot of effort to me, but each year her flower garden was more glorious than the year before. She put the same hard work into caring for her family, instilling in her children a sense of justice and fair play, compassion, and strong moral values so that we blossomed. Share anecdotes about your mother's life at your Mother's Day party. Too often, we avoid speaking of those loved ones who have passed away, fearful that we will unearth sad feelings. It doesn't have to be that way. Sharing fond memories and stories of the life we shared with her can be a healing process that binds the family together. My mother passed away when her oldest grandchild was only eight years old. Children will enjoy sharing pictures and stories of the grandmother they may have never known or have little memory of. Sharing anecdotes to pass on to the next generation will give children a feeling of family history and continuity, and may be one of the best ways to honor our mothers and grandmothers who have gone before us. At the Mother's Day party people don't mention their lost mums only because  _   .
they are simply afraid of causing sad feelings they have forgotten their mums completely they don't love their mums any longer they think their mums have passed away