The young woman and her husband looked down on their handsome son.

"Our son is sad today," said the woman. "I don't like to see him so sad."

The husband asked, "What can you do?"

"He needs to know that, even though I am gone, I still love him and am with him. This day, of all days, will be a hard one for him."

Unaware of the heavenly conversation between his parents, Dan Mangan threw his backpack over his shoulder and exited the cabin. The sky above him was a brilliant blue, with no clouds in sight. There was a fresh, crispness in the air. But Dan didn't see the beauty of the day. He only saw the darkness of loss as he remembered the day his mother left him. Trying to push down the painful memories , Dan got into his car and headed off to school.

"He needs to know that I am still here," his mother said. "I will send him the song that we used to love to sing together."

She waved her hand over the car and the song began playing out of the radio. Dan immediately turned the radio off. Blinking back the tears, started to drive.

"Hmmm....I'll have to try something else. Perhaps he will remember our mornings together," his mother said, as she watched Dan steer his car into the school's parking lot and find a spot for it.

Dan grabbed his backpack and headed towards his first class. . He passed a young girl as he walked. She looked at him, smiled, and said, 'Morning, lad," then continued on her way.

Dan paused briefly only to resume his trek across the cold parking lot.

After class, Dan trudged back through the barren winter campus to his car. Suddenly, there was a beautiful red cardinal directly in front of him. It stood proudly in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Surely he will remember how much I loved watching these birds while we were in the park," hoped his mother, as she watched from above.

But no attempt to get through to Dan was successful. He had wrapped himself up in his long-standing grief, and nothing could touch him. His heart was a stone.

"Ok, my Danny Boy," said his mother. "Let's try this." And she tossed a shiny penny down at his feet. Even though Dan was eager to get back to the solitude of his car, he stopped when he saw the penny. He plucked it from the ground, "Head's up," he murmured.

He tossed the penny back and forth in his hands. He thought back over his day and remembered the song on the radio, the greeting from the girl, and the cardinal. Slowly, a smile formed on his face. He looked up at the clear blue sky.

"I love you too, Mama," he whispered.