I came across this photograph in a file composed of all of the photographs I took of Mom.

I saw in it the sense of a veil between worlds and felt compelled to write this short piece.

Photo by Scooter Smith.

In this photo I took during the coronavirus pandemic, my mother was separated from Amy and I by a plexiglass wall during visits at her assisted living facility. 

The first few months, we were not allowed not visit her. Then, we could visit outside the facility but separated by the barrier. This photo shows my mother seated at a large table late in the pandemic when we could visit with her from the other end of the table in a big room, still separated by plexiglas.

Even though we could converse, I was struck by how it felt like we were in different worlds.

Yet, today, two and a half years after her passing, I feel no more distant from her now than then. We still talk, although now through the strange veil of death. We remain close.

Not only was I fortunate to have had Gloria Jane Mills Smith as a mother, I still am.