Happy Valentine’s Day. I am so blessed that a very dear friend of mine chose to share a deeply personal story of loss and love in this month’s Alabaster Jar Moments Featured Post.

As we pause to celebrate with loved ones today, I hope this post will be a reminder of how truly precious and important this present expression of love really is.

Latisha, your free gift of AromaShot Essential Oil Blend from the Alabaster Jar Aromatherapy Collection is on its way!

I Love You!

Last year I lost a cousin who was like sister to me. Between two jobs, she worked 7 days a week. My cousin worked for the Police Department for 30+ years and part-time in hospital admissions for over 20 years.  She was very much looking forward to retirement at the end of the year.

My cousin loved and supported her family; everyone could always count on her. She didn’t have any children and she wasn’t married but she was loved by many, including me. We talked by phone everyday on our commutes to and from work. We would laugh, share secrets, and life lessons.

One day, like any other day I called my cousin on the way to work but got her voicemail.  I thought to myself, “no big deal, because I knew she would call me back.”  When my cousin did call back, I missed her call. Again, I thought “no big deal”, I will catch her on my ride home from work.”

Well, I didn’t get that chance, because she died unexpectedly later that very day. It was the worst day of my life because I never got a chance to talk to her, to laugh with her to share a funny story or life lesson. To tell her I love her.

And now I would never hear voice again. 

The next time I saw my cousin who was like a sister to me, l was attending her funeral. Though I will always have beautiful memories of our conversations, memories of hanging out, spending time with each other and especially those special daily phone calls; I also have the pain of loss that I think about every day.

This loss has taught me a lot about the importance of cherishing the moments you spend with loved ones, whether in person, phone, text, etc.   

But my biggest lesson is when you contact a love one, a friend or someone who is important to you make sure you end the message, text or phone call with the three most impactful words in the world….

I Love You!

Latisha Hammock, Guest Contributor