Words of wisdom from a shoe: Never forget to say 'I love you'

She spotted the scrap of paper inside a size 10 running shoe.

The handwritten note had just one line.

"We miss you Adam and will love you always. Mom & Dad."

Judy Zemeske found it while sorting through thousands of donated shoes. She's a coordinator for the Reuse-A-Shoe program at Waste Management in Grayslake.

Six tons, more than 27,000 soles, were collected this year. The shoes will get ground up, recycled and turned into tennis courts and running tracks.

Zemeske has come across moon boots, golf spikes, flip-flops -- even a size 16 basketball shoe. But she never expected to find something so personal.

"I was touched by the note and saddened," she said. "Because Adam never saw it. It made me think of the times we try to leave notes like this in inconspicuous places hoping to brighten someone's day, resolve a conflict, offer an apology, and how many of these are never found."

We can only guess why Mom and Dad wrote it.

Was Adam off to college or marriage or moving away for a new job?

Or maybe they had a big fight and the note was their peace offering.

And why did they say, "…will love you always." It makes you think he'll be gone for a very long time.

If Adam never saw the note, he might have thought, "Jeez, I'm halfway across the country, and not even a little note to say they miss me."

Zemeske is right. Communication gets lost.

A sticky-note, blown away by a summer breeze. The spam e-mail filter snags a letter of apology.

Worse yet. What about the notes that never get written?

We're too angry to write, "I'm sorry." Too lazy to pen, "I love you."

Maybe Adam's little lost note can be our reminder.