It's Mother's Day Without My Mom

This is the first mother's day without my mom. I'm thinking of ways to honor her on this special day.

It won't be the same this year without her, as Mother's day always brought special memories for me. I celebrate my birthday around mother's day and last year, we had a big celebration. That was the last time many of my family members saw mom alive.

She passed away 2 months later.

I recall the happy times that we shared together. She loved flowers. Her favorites were Geraniums and Lilacs. We went to the lilac festival one year. The fresh smells of spring and lilacs danced in the breeze. She loved that day.

This year, I'll go to her grave site and bring her a lilac.

She loved music, especially Elvis Presley. Wherever we drove in the car, I would play Elvis on the radio for her. She would get so excited that there was a special station dedicated to play only Elvis music. It's called Satellite Radio mom, it's directly from Graceland. She just laughed.

This year, I'll play some Elvis on Mother's day.

She loved Elvis and speaking of her favorite music. She loved the theme song from The Wizard of Oz. "Over the Rainbow" is a song that always makes me smile as I recall the day of her funeral, we played that song. It was marked with tears of sadness but the memory of her reigns whenever I hear that song play. I cherish those songs, those memories, and they help me carry on.

There is such a great blessing in this life to share a love between a mother and her child. The mother's heart is deep in love for her children.

Mother's heal our hearts, bandage our wounds, wipe our tears away, and love us unconditionally.

Each year millions celebrate their mothers on mother's day. It is considered one of the busiest days for the phone industry and one of the largest producers for hallmark greeting cards.

For many like myself, mother's day may be marked with sadness. For mothers whom they never knew, for mothers who have passed away, and for the mothers who neglected to love in the way a child should be loved.

I am one of the lucky ones. I was richly blessed to have one of the greatest moms. She was not perfect, she made mistakes, and we had those troubled teen years, but she was my mom. And I loved her greatly.

During her last years of life, she had a failing heart. Even though her heart was slowly dying, her love was strong. I met her love with mine. I dedicated many hours of my day to spend with her in those last days. There were lessons learned during those difficult days watching her slip away.

The pain I felt in losing her was marked by incredible sadness and yet my heart was filled with gratitude. I was grateful for being able to spend that time with her. The many memories we shared in those last days come to mind frequently. In the shadows, I feel her near. In the sunshine, I catch a whiff of her smell. The memories flood back washing over me, drenching me with the blessings of a mother.

I'll be alright as I have known the richness of a mother's love. I'll be fine as I have been blessed by a mother who cared deeply for her children. I'll be looking forward to the day we meet again. That day in Heaven will be a party like no other. No tears of pain and I will relinquish any suffering of loss on that day.

This hopeful daughter is grateful. I will carry on this love to my own children and grandchildren as I have learned from the best.

This year I will be celebrating mother's day without my mom on this earth, but she will always remain in my heart.

Thank you mom for blessing my life.