I had started moving from my apartment into a home, and like most people I had a storage unit I hadn’t been into in years for various reasons. Besides, I just didn’t have the space at my place at the time to handle all the things I had…old Army stuff, footlocker, and my favorite junk.

It would be a couple of months before I would open my footlocker. Until then I really didn’t have the ambition to go through all the things I had tucked away for safekeeping.

My day usually started with coffee and news, checking the stock market to see how things were going, and making calls for things that needed follow-up or for appointments. Well, it was a rainy day that day, and out of boredom I decided to go through my old footlocker. I found many treasures from my past that I had forgotten about. I ran across pictures that made me laugh and remember all the great times I had when I served. 

Looking through and digging I found an old disposable camera containing film that had never been developed. I set it aside and continued to find all kinds of mementos and things. I grabbed the camera and set it on my desk. It sat there for another three weeks.

Finally, I had some prescriptions to pick up, so I thought it would be a great day to drop the thing off and have the film developed. When I dropped it off, the gal at the counter and I had a good laugh. She said, “That’s an old one.” I agreed and said the proof might be there if she sees anything crazy.

About a week later I got a call saying my film was ready to be picked up. Talk about curiosity killing the cat; I dropped what I was doing and went to pick up my pics. 

 Back home, I sat down and eagerly opened the pouch containing photos of my past. What came next, I was not ready for.

The pics were of my mom on the day she passed. I had been home on leave for the holidays, and I guess I put the camera in my footlocker just so I could forget about that day. Never in a million years did I think I would see pics of my mom’s last few hours on her last day. The dinner, the gifts, the smile on her face.

A tear formed, and I wiped it away. It wasn’t because I was sad; I was happy that I could catch my mom at her best before she was taken home.

I had been thinking of my mom, and I guess this was her way of saying “I’m still here and watching over you son. Things are ok. Love you!”