Memories of Mom

I’m not going to lie to you. This past weekend was a tough one. I missed Mom so much over the Mother’s Day weekend. It just didn’t seem possible that she wasn’t here for it. I cried – a lot! My heart ached so much. I just wanted to crawl into her lap and feel her arms around me. But, each day – each moment – we simply wade through and know that in time it won’t hurt so much.

 

 

So, on Mother’s Day, my dad and I spent time with my sister’s crazy bunch. There are always stories shared of Grams and memories of Mom. It got me thinking about some stories of my own and for some reason, one popped into my head – one that I’m not sure anyone else in my family knows about.

It must have been about three years ago. I was living here in Cincinnati with my folks, but my mom had not been put on oxygen yet. And, I think it was in those few weeks after the movie theatre shooting in Colorado. Anyway, my mom had gone to one of her favorite stores to shop for scrap booking materials. Being my mom, she started talking to another shopper, a woman, probably around my age. They chatted about their hobbies. But, soon this woman opened up to my mom and confided in her that she knew someone who had died in the shooting – the son or daughter of a friend, I think. The woman cried and my mom soon had tears in her eyes too. My mom, being the sweet, kind-hearted person she was, gave this woman – a complete stranger – a hug. Typical Mom. People, complete strangers even, felt comfortable with my mom and could talk to her about anything. She always listened. She was always patient. She was always compassionate.

 

 

Later that evening, my mom told me about this encounter. I chuckled, as I knew my mom just seemed to have this aura about her that invited people to open up their hearts to her. When she finished telling me the story, she said, “Well, I did my good deed for the day!” I laughed, knowing that my mom never seemed to do just one good deed for the day. But that’s how she viewed her life. I used to comment that my mom wasn’t the “brightest bulb on the Christmas tree” (sorry Mom!), not being particularly book smart of worldly. However, my mom knew people. She understood people – their emotions, their character, their hearts. I always felt she was the only person in my family that truly understood me and knew what made her independent, adventurous, creative, sometimes flaky daughter tick. My mom “got me” and I believe she “got” people in general – which is why total strangers would tell her these stories.

 

 

So, as I received an email from a potential new travel client for some reason this memory of my mom was rolling around in my brain. He wanted to plan a trip for a very special occasion. I emailed back, explaining how my services work. He responded with questions. I thought about things and decided to offer this possible new client a bit of a deal. Nothing big, but something nice as a “gift” for this special event in his life. When he wrote back, saying he indeed wanted me to plan this wonderful trip, he told me more about his life and his present circumstances. My draw kind of dropped. I honestly believe my mom had a hand in guiding me to make the decision I did – giving this man a “gift”. In my heart, I knew I had done something truly “mom-like” for this person. I could see my mom smiling down upon me – and I smiled in return. “Well, you did your good deed for the day, Little One,” I heard her say. “Yes I did, Mama – I learned from the best!”