December 10, 2011

Dear Mrs. Messe,

I wanted to take a moment this holiday season to let you know how present you are in our holiday celebration - thanks to your friendship with Mom.

Each year Margaret was excited to receive her holiday ornament from her friend, Jane. The package was opened with the greatest care. Equal care was also given to the proper placement on the tree. Each and every shiny addition, whether it came from Danbury, The White House or Neimann Marcus, was added carefully to the tree in order to catch the proper light or complement other ornaments. Oftentimes, throughout the season, a special ornament would be summoned from the tree for closer examination and appreciation. Then it would be placed back on the tree in the same spot from which it came. Your ornaments were always in the place of honor on Mom’s tree. When she moved in with us, we set up the “shiny” tree in the living room and that was Mom’s tree. Your ornaments were again in the front of the tree and they were the main reason we referred to the tree as the “shiny” tree.

As the season drew to a close each year, there was another ritual – a real Margaret tradition. The ornaments were carefully removed from the tree, delivered to Margaret, who then carefully reinserted each and every ornament into its original package, just as it had been when received. They were all packed away until the following year, when they would the whole tradition was re-played again.

It was not just the beauty of those ornaments that made them so special. It was, more importantly, about the years of friendship that those ornaments represented. Margaret loved her talks with you, her lunches with you, and the history you two shared. She loved your jokes, your stories of your family, your ability to stay-in-touch with all of your friends, and she loved you.

This year, we started new traditions as we must in Margaret’s physical absence. We quickly realized that this absence was just physcial, and nothing more. Margaret was very much with us as we unpacked each ornament, as was her good friend, Jane. It was as though nothing had changed.

Thank you, Mrs. Messe, for being you and making Mom so happy. Thank you for gracing our tree with all the shine and love and friendship that was always there. You will forever be part of our traditions, and we are grateful for you and your friendship with Margaret.

We send McCarthy wishes for a Merry Christmas to all of the Messe women, but especially to Margaret’s good friend. Thank you Mrs. Messe.

Love,