All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
-Abraham Lincoln
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My Mom passed away back in 1995. It’s hard to believe that it has been so many years now. A day doesn’t go by that the thought of her doesn’t enter my mind in some way. A memory of her movement, her voice, her good and bad points– they are all set off by suddenly noticing how deeply they are all ingrained in myself. When I am walking, I see my mother walking. When I am angry, I see her anger. When I am sitting alone, I see her sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of tea and her everpresent cigarette, wordless and still.
It’s always hard on Mother’s Day, as it probably is for most whose mothers have long passed. For me , it is often a day filled with regrets for words, both said and unsaid, and actions. Regrets for not speaking more words of love and appreciation. Regrets for speaking words as a selfish child that may have unknowingly hurt her. But, like most days, these regrets fade away and are replaced with only the memory of her– a simple yet complex woman for which I owe that I am or hope to be, as Uncle Abe said.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Here’s Sundown from Gordon Lightfoot. Mom really liked this song and Lightfoot’s voice in general. She also loved Eddy Arnold‘s voice but that will have to wait until another Mother’s Day..
Redtree Times 