Missing My Mother On Mother's Day

Story ID:	2091
Written by:	Nancy J. Kopp
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Manhattan KS USA
Year:	2007
Person:	Garnet Julien

Missing My Mother on Mother’s Day


I stopped at a Hallmark shop the other day to buy Mother’s Day cards for my daughter and daughter-in-law. The aisle where the cards for this special day rested was a long one. There were Mother’s Day cards appropriate to send to everyone from your cleaning lady to your best friend. The colors were soft and spring-like, fitting for the month of May. I moved up and down the aisle looking for cards that worked for Karen and Amy, and suddenly without any warning, an ache started deep inside. It swelled and moved upward, hit my heart and pushed a tear from my eye.

The one card I really wanted to buy was one for my own mother, but she passed away more than two years ago. I could buy the card, write a special note, sign it with love, then seal and stamp it. But where would I send it? Heaven has no post office. A curtain of sadness dropped down and covered me like a shroud for a moment or two. My hand reached out to a card that I knew she’d love. It was lavender and purple, her favorite colors. I read the verse and smiled. This was the one I’d buy her if I could only send it to her. I slipped it back in the rack, picked it up and read it again, then replaced it.

I’m a mother and a grandmother of four, but I still miss my mom. I miss our long talks. I miss the stories she told about her childhood in a coal mining town. I miss the wonderful pies and cakes she made. I miss her sense of humor and hearty laughter. I miss her hugs.

But as I look around my home, I see her in many places. I see her in photos carefully arranged in several different rooms. I see her every time I sift through my recipe box and look at the cards with her handwriting, all so precious now. I see her when I use my rolling pin, once hers. Along with so many other items in my kitchen.

On Mother’s Day I will be with my daughter and her family at a Mother’s Day Brunch. To be with a child I love and her husband and children will give me great pleasure. It wouldn’t surprise me if we sense another presence that day for my mother will be with us in spirit, spreading her love once more.