I stink at keeping secrets. So I hope that my cousin will not be angry that I am letting you in on this one! My cousin, Melissa, was adopted as a baby. Her dad left her mother and her when Melissa was a teenager. Then, ten years ago, her mother passed away from ovarian cancer. She was recently reunited with her father when he suffered a horrible stroke and my grandpa (his brother,) was contacted by a nursing home. Melissa is currently trying to sort out his affairs and get enough money to move him to CO, so she can take care of him. Melissa has more than her fair share of heartache in her life. Yet, her light shines through all of the pain and she continues to be a ray of sunshine to all whom she meets.
Melissa shared something with me the other week and it touched my heart so deeply that I couldn't help but want to be a part of it. Before her mother passed away, she left little notes for Melissa. They were placed in a box, to be read whenever Melissa was feeling down or missing the love that only a mama can deliver. It reminded me of the hearts that Jo Frost implemented in our own family. I immediately got excited when she told me of her dream to make the precious notes from her mother, into a tool for all parents. April 1st will mark the tenth anniversary of Melissa's mother's passing. It is her desire to launch the project on that day.
My aunt was an exceptionally beautiful woman (inside and out) and it is very obvious that she passed her love and beauty, down to her daughter. As soon as the website is up and running, I will place the link on all of my blogs. I ask that any of you who have blogs or websites, place the link on yours, as well. We need to get the word out to all parents. We know not the hour or day of our departure from this beautiful earth. We should make the most of it while we are here. We should leave our children a legacy of love, lessons of kindness and precious notes filled with our memory. These are the greatest gifts that we can bestow upon our offspring. My aunt did it for my cousin and she is forever grateful to be able to pull out a note, read her mother's sweet words and feel the connection that she can no longer physically have with the woman who lovingly chose her for her own.
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Sorry this is so long, but I just got this & after reading this post it seemed so appropriate...Hope you enjoy!
BEING A MOTHER
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.'
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years. The demands of my work and my two children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
'What's wrong, are you well?' she asked.
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded. 'Just the two of us.'
She thought about it for a moment, and then said, 'I would like that very much.'
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date.
She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's. 'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into the car. 'They can't w! ait to h ear about our meeting.'
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.
After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. 'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said.
'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.
'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home.
'Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I
didn't have a chance to do anything for her.
Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.'
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I LOVE YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till 'some other time'.
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to ! get back to normal after you've had a baby ... somebody doesn't kn ow that once you're a mother, 'normal' is history.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct ... somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
Somebody said being a mother is boring ... somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.
Somebody said if you're a 'good' mother, your child will 'turn out good' ... somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
Somebody said 'good' mothers never raise their voices .. somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother .. somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.
Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first ... somebody doesn't have two children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child -rearing questions in the books ... somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery ... somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back ... somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married ... somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in- law to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home ... somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her ... somebody isn't a mother.
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