The other day, an acquaintance asked me if my mom lives nearby. The question sounded so strange after having lived the last 17 years without her.
Although much has happened in my life in those 17 years (bought two new homes, got two new jobs, met my husband, got married, started a business...), I still feel her loss as if it was yesterday. That's the power of a mother's love.
I remember growing up, and my mom always talking about her mother. It was always, grandma this and grandma that...my mother this, and my mother that. My grandmother died when I was just 6 months old, so I never knew her, but my own mom's love and admiration for her were evident throughout the rest of her life.
Two years ago, after a diagnosis of dementia, my mother-in-law came to live with us. Although not always thinking in the present, she spent a good deal of time asking about and talking about her mother. I never knew her mother, but the power of that love between mother and daughter was evident.
It is a unique bond between mother and child; one that never weakens. I picture myself, 40 or 50 years from now, feeling very much the same about the loss of my mom, just as she did about her mom, and my mother-in-law does about her mom.
I relayed the story to Ken and how odd it sounded to be asked where my mom lives, and he gave a most appropriate response: no, she actually lives very far away.
To my mom in heaven: Happy Mother's Day!
A very Happy Mother's Day to all!
