She smiled.
“Because, Emily, you should never close the door on a family member who might come back one day.”
Her words made me think about something.
Sometimes people spend years waiting not for guests, but for forgiveness.
And sometimes, an elderly mother’s greatest wish isn’t to live longer, but to hear her child call her “Mom” one more time before she dies.
Could you forgive your mother if her mistake had cost you twenty-three years with your own child? 
