For you Mom

At one point when my son was not doing well and my mom was aware of what was going on she bravely said: " It is not fair that he has to struggle so in life; I have had a good life and something happens to everyone at sometime. I have lived a good life and he hasn't even had a chance. " It is these words that grab my heart with pain and quell it at the same time. What a brave and insightful woman she is and has always been.


It is an odd phenomenon to look into your mother's deep brown eyes and to see her so far away. This has become so obvious as I look at her day to day and in the photos I take. Mom has been so present for us over time. She would listen and think and help you see things a new. She always looked you in the eyes even on the phone I could feel her gaze and attention. Mom always had, and still does, to a large extent had the ability to read how we were doing emotionally. There never was a way to fool her into thinking things were fine when they really weren't. She can still look at me , and I bet my sisters , and ask are things alright honey? She doesn't remember my name, but knows when things aren't right. She has been a coach when I was ready to hang up school, work or parenting any number of times. She hung in there and made me feel like a good parent despite having some really tough kids. She helped us kids and so many of our friends to believe in ourselves. Empathy.

So it is for you mom that I write this blog, It is for your daughters, grandchildren, son in laws and husband and friends to share your life and wisdom. I hope we can preserve these memories and unearth some from the past as well.