That picture is of three generations of the wonderful women of my family. Unfortunately, the eldest of them has passed on. She lived a long and powerful life, beloved by her community and her family. She endured to see herself become a grandmother to me, then a great grandmother to my niece, Jazmine.

Her death came suddenly and brutally. Despite heroic efforts to revive her, she slipped through the hands of the doctors and nurses working on her and slipped to the great beyond, leaving us behind.

Now we must pick up the pieces, and that includes hurrying to New York to attend her funeral and saying our final goodbyes to her, my grandmother, and once-matriarch of our family. We are emotionally devastated, but this cannot be delayed. This expense is just another layer on an unhappy layer cake of misfortune.

If you can afford to lend a hand in this time of need, thank you. Even little contributions help to ease the edge and smooth the rough passage through this portion of life. Thank you for helping us rush to say our goodbyes. It would be a sad thing to not get the chance to do so.