To my mother

      In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share a journal entry I wrote a few months ago. Thank you, Mom, for all the laughter, hugs and long nights that turned into some of the most beloved memories. Know that you are loved!

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March 2, 2015

Tonight my mother sang to me. 

Sweet tunes hummed from closed lips, whispering little reassurances into my tired ears. My head laid in the crook of her hip, the safest place I’ve ever known, and she comforted me as if I was her little child again. Days of sun-blonde locks and imaginary friends danced in my head; her in that blue and white dress she always wore, standing at the kitchen sink with dogs barking outside; days when things were simpler and my eyes were wide with wonder at the world around me. Tire swings, tree houses, baby dolls and bike rides were my most beloved pastimes and the future consisted of the next few precious moments and nothing more. There were days without dread; waking up to the sun through my window felt like the morning kissing my cheeks ‘hello.’

Snow was a welcome friend who filled me with joy and hot cocoa. Six little mittens sitting frozen on the heater and rosy cheeks with smiles in between. 

Rain woke me often with its tapping on my roof in the next months, but I payed no mind. The rain held a magic that I couldn’t quite explain, an ability to soothe the deepest corners of my little heart and the worries hidden there.

Summer brought bare feet and freedom; I can still feel the warm grass between my toes. Picking fresh honeysuckle and coming in from the backyard with grass-stained knees were the finest of days. When our favorite things were makeshift slip and slides, flooded sandboxes, and hugs from Mom and Dad, that’s when we knew how to live.

Light jackets, large sweaters, hay bales and pumpkin patches filled the days of fall. There was no greater joy than jumping face-first into a pile of leaves. Occasionally, I catch the smell of spiced cider in the air and it brings me back to those crisp, cool moments when we were surrounded by family and everything was beautiful.

Her tune carries the memories of my childhood and tonight I had the privilege to sit and visit awhile, and all because my mother sang to me.




Lauren