Missing Linda

My mother-in-law passed away October 6, 2008. I miss her. She's been on my mind all day, so I thought I would write a little something about her.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2005. She fought hard for three years. She endured countless rounds of chemo and radiation, a mastectomy, and still more chemo and radiation. She did everything she could possibly do to fight it. It spread to her liver and to her bones. It is still hard to believe how much pain she endured right up until the end.
It's because of her that I started to make quilts. She was always supportive in every new project I started, not just quilting. I love to watch the Martha Stewart Show, and last spring there was a segment on sewing a small purse. I went through my fabric stash and found some small scraps big enough to try out this pattern from the show. I made it, and when Linda came over I showed her. She thought it was just the most clever idea, and she went on and on about how much she liked it, and what a good job I did, etc... I just set it aside and kind of forgot about it. One day the strap broke off of the purse I was using at the time. In a hurry to get to work, I saw that little purse I made and quickly transferred all of my stuff to it. Well Linda saw me with it, and went on and on again about it. Every time she saw me with that dang purse, she would tell me what a good job I did on it.
A week before she passed away, I went over to see her, and I was still using that purse. She was on a heck of a lot of meds, and she was having some trouble speaking, and getting the right words to come out of her mouth. She saw that little purse dangling from my wrist and her eyes lit up and she was still talking about that purse!
We miss her terribly, and are in the middle of planning her Memorial Celebration, to be held one week from today.