My maternal grandmother died when I was 10. My younger brother, in his grief and also wishing to comfort my mother, stayed home from school. Not I. Perfect attendance was held in high esteem in our family. Remembering that Grandma had a custom of awarding a dollar to each of us with perfect attendance, I boarded the school bus and soldiered on.

Today is a day of mourning. Government facilities are closed. That being the case, seven of my eight stores are closed. I will be working – in my jeans and three strands of pearls – paltry though they be.

Both mourning and celebration of life well-lived are remembrance. I will hoist the flag. I will lower it to half-mast. I will remember. I will wear pearls. I will be a point of light.