Last night was the first time in my 56 years I went to bed knowing that my mother was no longer breathing somewhere else on this planet. I didn’t sleep much last night—just a jumble of thoughts and emotions running through me. Fourteen years after Mom’s diagnosis, I thought I was ready for this day, but I was wrong. I could be prepared, but I was never going to be ready.

When this morning finally arrived, the best thing I thought I could do was get up to meet the new day. Every ending brings a beginning. I am glad Mom is now free from Alzheimer’s, and I realized that she is not gone—she is everywhere. In the air, in the waves, in the clouds, in the rays of the sun. In me. And in all of you who met her.

Mom’s 86 years on Earth weren’t easy. She grew up in a time of war, left her home country, and made a life she never imagined. She was a single mother with two kids. Mom worked her butt off to make sure her kids would have more than she did. She tried her best and got up each time she was knocked down. You taught us well, Mom. We love you. #mom #luckywelivehawaii #mochislifeishard