A sweet reminder

“When my mother died of lung cancer last year, just two weeks before Easter, the only solace I could find was in reminiscing about my childhood and all the wonderful traditions she had created for us kids. Every Easter morning, I would wake up and find a beautiful basket at the end of my bed with a perfect white-chocolate bunny peering over the top.

“One year, when I was about 8 years old, I asked my mother why I received a white-chocolate bunny when all my friends got milk-chocolate ones. She took me in her arms and said, ‘Darling, it’s because you are very special.’ I will never forget how truly loved I felt in that moment.

“While in a store browsing for Easter treats and stuffed animals for my children, my heart ached for my mother. Tears of loss and grief stung my eyes as I peered through rows of candy and toys. Suddenly, a basket with pink grass and a tall white-chocolate bunny came into view like a dream.

“You’re very special, I heard, like a warm breeze rustling through my spirit.

Feeling my mother near,

I blinked back tears of joy and nestled the basket gently inside my cart. But when I got to the checkout counter, the cashier seemed confused. ‘That’s odd,’ she commented. ‘I unpacked the Easter candy myself and we didn’t get any white-chocolate bunnies. Where’d you find that?’ I smiled and replied, ‘I believe it found me.’”

—Mary McKechnie, 45, Atlanta