Mother

Today is my mother's birthday. I have been thinking a lot about her and missing her too. Yesterday I was cleaning under my daughter's bed when I found a posterboard from her kindergarten project. She had to put pictures of her life on it and wrote in blanks about herself. I remember how much she wanted to glue pictures of Grandma Cookie on there, so I found a few that she could cut into and post for her classmates to see. As I looked over this, sitting quietly in her bedroom, I remembered how lovely my mother was and how much my children enjoyed her. I caressed my little one as he stroked his tiny little fingers over her face. "Cookie?" Oh, how I wish he had the memories of her as my older children do. Yet he still knows her. He hears about her and sees many pictures of her. He will gain memories through those of his siblings. And those will live on through the generations. Can you imagine how many will know of her through the legacy she has left behind? She has so many children, grandchildren, and friends who will talk about her. Who truely know her. I knew her well. I held her many times as she had done with me. My last and best memory with her was of her holding me tightly in her arms as we laid in her bed. I cried as she comforted my lonliness and explained that she understood, but she also knew that it would pass, as hers had. She held me tight and I loved it. I felt like a baby in her arms, safe and protected. I felt warmth and love. The kind only a mother can give. She was a wonderful mother to me and I appreciated her in the end. I am grateful for what she has taught me and the moments that only the two of us shared. Happy birthday Mother. You are always remembered and always in my heart.