I have been pretty stoic since my mom passed a few months ago. I'm still not sure if that's just my personality, or if it's a "mask" that I'm wearing (as Lewis Howes would say).

I suppose time will tell.

I haven't been outwardly emotional about it, and most of the time I'm able to get through the day without it drastically effecting me. In certain instances, however, its rough. Visiting her resting place, holidays, and Aubrey sharing memories of finger-painting with grandma are just a few of the things that really get to me.

This letter is also one of those things.

This letter was written by someone I knew in high school. As he says, we were never particularly close, but we played sports together and hung out on occasion. A few years ago he made some mistakes, got into some trouble, and is now in prison.

His mom posts these letters on his Facebook page. I'm not sure how, or if, he knows I read them. But I have. Every single one. They're extremely thoughtful and real. In fact, he seems to have grown more over the past few years in there than most people I know out here.

I'm not sure why a few words about my mom from a person I haven't spoken to in 10 years weigh so heavily on me.

Maybe it's because he chose his only method of connecting with the outside world to send his condolences to me and share a beautiful memory about my mom.

Or maybe it's because I often overlook some of the seemingly small, but exceptional traits that my mom had, which he writes about here.

Either way, this is something I will hold on to forever.

I try to treat all people with respect. Always have.

Now I know where I get it from.