I've been thinking about my mom. It's her birthday today and she would have been 84. It's been 18 years since she died and while time does heal, the years also bring more milestones in my life where she was absent. My graduation from college, first job, first home, all sorts of things that a daughter likes to show off to her mom. The big ones are the saddest~she never met my husband, danced at our wedding, or saw the birth of our child. I know she is here in spirit, but my heart aches that she and Emily will never know each other.
My earliest memory of my mom is her singing the lullaby "You Are My Sunshine" to me. I remember being comforted in her arms when I was sad or sick or too tired to sleep while she sang. I remember listening to the words and feeling special and loved.
My mom usually had a sunny personality. So the words, "You make me happy, when skies are gray" seem an appropriate way to remember her today. She wouldn't want me to be sad. And if she could, she would delight in rocking her granddaughter to sleep with the same song.
It's a song I sing to Emily. I hope to pass on the same memories of comfort and love to her as I received from my mother. Someday, she'll know that her grandmother sang it to me. That will be one way at least she will know her.
I have some of the same thoughts about my mom. She would have been a fantastic grandma. She passed away 19 years ago, just a month before the birth of her first grandchild.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are able to share some of the special memories you and your mom had with Emily. It's nice to carry on the traditions even if we can't introduce the people with whom we shared them.