Mother's Day...

So, it's mother's day today...and I hardly felt sad at all.

That's strange. But I was reminded of the last Mother's Day I got to spend with my mom in 2003. It was the day before I flew up here to work on Mack Island for the first time. Although my boss wanted me here weeks earlier, I am now SO glad I stuck to my gut to spend Mother's Day with mom...

Wow. That seems like forever ago.

At times I am reminded of her presence still in my life, even though she is dead.

It's the little things...the phone booths here on the island that I used to use to call her once a week. The little souvenirs I bought and mailed to her...a little bar of lavender soap...some fudge.

I remember the fear I felt every time I called her...because I was afraid she would not remember me. The cancer had begun to spread to her brain, so sometimes she was not quite with it. But she always remembered me! :-) I am so grateful for that. And even more grateful for our last conversation (i used the phone near the docks...) when she made me answer questions for some survey I got in the mail from my university. I thought it was a stupid waste of time, and didn't want to spend the last conversation with my mom doing such a task! But she sternly reminded me that she was my MOTHER, and we WERE DOING THE SURVEY, and I followed her lead.

When I flew back home, just before she died, I found that survey, filled out with her shaky handwriting. It made me proud and sad. But ever so grateful for my mother and the direction she gave me in life.

So much has changed for me since that time.

But I still carry the lessons learned. And I still hate filling out stupid surveys :-)

Happy Mother's Day!