Mom loved hospital gift shops. Well, gift shops of any sort, but she said hospital gift shops carried unusual things.

On the last day of Hannah’s February visit, the month before Mom passed, we made our rounds to not one but three different hospital gift shops. We stayed out that day longer than Mom had the energy for, but we hit all the area shops. Mom coasted along in a wheelchair to conserve energy while she explored. She bought something little in each one – a necklace, a watch, a gift. Hannah and I still reminisce about that adventure.

In June 2022, Mom and I visited her favorite hospital gift shop. I remember her eyeing this little solar lantern. There was one in green and one in red. Of course, she chose red – she liked color and a bit of bling.

During one of my trips to Pennsylvania this summer, I discovered the lantern discarded in the yard and brought it home with me. Faded by the sun, I hung it on our gate trellis and watched for it to light up at night. The light didn’t work. I took it apart, fiddled with it, and got it to work for a night or two. I remember Hannah calling out excitedly that she saw it faintly glowing one night.

Our last tropical storm caught me by surprise. When doing yard cleanup, I found it in pieces, but the lantern framework was still intact. I gave it to Paul, hoping he could resurrect the light, so far without success. Oddly, it’s important to me that Mom’s lantern lights again.

Unwilling to give up, I gave it a fresh coat of cherry red paint and returned it to the trellis. Adding solar string lights to the trellis helps to highlight the little lantern until I come up with a new plan.

Hannah’s Jack-o’Lantern and Mom’s little lantern under a full moon.