For as long as I can remember, my girls have called me Marmie. I’m pretty sure it started with Little Women, but it’s always been a name of affection among us. My husband and family are the center of my universe. They are the impetus for most of what I do. Not only do I adore them, but I love the way they love me.

In clearing out a bookshelf recently, I came across a notebook one of my girls wrote almost twenty years ago. This was on one of the pages. I cried, o...