An Ache in the Middle of an Amazing Moment

Two summers ago while in Mexico we met, through friends, two woman who enhanced my life. A mother and daughter whose bond was ethereal, a true gift from God.

The mother, who had been fighting lung cancer, taught me to step outside my comfort zone. She confided in me that usually she would not have come alone with her daughter or done many of the things she did that week, if it had not been for her need to create memories with her. She stated that no longer was the idea of getting on a jet ski scary or embarrassing, because her figure was far from perfect or because of the many scars and loss of hair from brain surgery, but instead was a moment to live, to feel the wind against her face, to feel joy.

Her daughter and only child taught me that the bond between child and mother is so strong and powerful. Seeing them together, I truly believe that the love she had for her mother is what kept her alive far past her time.

Love won the battle, but unfortunately lost the war as that next Thanksgiving Day, in a true twist of irony, or perhaps fate, as all were to sit down for a dinner, her mother went quickly, called by a higher power to a place free of pain.

Unfortunately, here, pain still lingers, and on Instagram this morning her daughter posted a graduation picture of herself in front of her sorority at USC. An amazing person in all areas, culturally, socially, academically, and with a graduation gown embellished with the highest honors a student from one of the most prestigious schools ever, she is so accomplished for someone her age.. But the comment she had placed underneath simply stated "I hope you are proud of me Momma."

As a mother myself and as someone who has become a better person for knowing her mother, this brought tears to my eyes. and although I can state emphatically and with true certainty that there is no one prouder, in this world and the next, then her mother is of her......I cannot change the true issue, that her mother is not here to say it herself.