March 2012
Mommy & Me
My gift to us this Mother’s Day.
By Valencia Lyles-Saunders
Dear Mom,
I can’t believe I’m spending another Mother’s Day without you. It’s been three years since your passing and I still miss you madly. Each Mother’s Day that has passed in the last 3 years I’ve felt sad that you’re not here. I want to send you a card, buy you plants and flowers for you garden and take you out for brunch. I really miss this Springtime ritual.
But, just when I thought that another Mother’s Day would come again without you I got a loving surprise. When I was going through some of your things after you passed, I found that you saved all the cards and gifts we’d given you over the years; we also gave you lots of watches over the years as well. Anyway, you saved all the cards that we had given you in a photo albums. I was so touched that these little tokens meant so much to you. I still tear up when I think about it.
But of all the Mother’s Day memories we shared with you there is one that stands out above all the rest.
I remember calling and asking you about going out to dinner for the big day and you seemed luke-warm about the idea, so then I thought that we could all come over and spend the day with you. So I dropped that idea on you.
Your reply to that was, “Please don’t get offended, but what I really want for Mother’s Day is to be by myself. I want the day to myself to do exactly what I want even if that’s nothing at all. Come over next weekend, I’ll be happy to see you then.”
To be honest I was stunned because I felt it was my duty to do something or to present some kind of gift to you on Mother’s Day. So I didn’t push it and I obeyed your request and came over the following weekend.
You know, no matter who I tell this story to they agree with you 100% and now that I’m a mother you so do I.
So this year I’m going to take a page from your book and in the spirit of Margaret Lyles, I going to snag some quite time to myself, or maybe even the whole day to do something I want to do. Or, I’ll do absolutely nothing. And while I’m doing it I’ll know you’ll be right there with me.
Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms on this side and the other.Love never fades.
