Reading While I Can

As part of my new year's resolution, I decided to read a book a month. At least until the baby comes out, then who knows if I'll have the time or the energy to enjoy reading. For January, I read For One More Day by Mitch Albom which I got as a Christmas gift from Jean. Below are some quotes that I particularly related to.

"Mom?" I whispered.
I hadn't said it in so long. When death takes your mother, it steals that word forever.
"Mom?"
It's just a sound really, a hum interrupted by open lips. But there are a zillion words on this planet, and not one of them comes out of your mouth the way that one does.

I remember the first time this realization hit me. It was maybe two weeks after my mom's death, I was taking a break from studying in a friend's dorm room on her top bunk bed when the phone rang. Her mom had called to check up on her and to do some good old loving nagging to which my friend responded in an exasperated sigh, "Oh Mom." I covered my head with the comforter and silently wept.

Soon another human being will call me "Mom."

"You know, for three years after I married your father, I wished for a child. In those days, three years to get pregnant, that was a long time. People thought there was something wrong with me. So did I."
She exhaled softly. "I couldn't imagine a life without children. Once, I even...Wait. Let's see."
She guided me toward the large tree on the corner near our house.
"This was late one night, when I couldn't sleep." She rubbed her hand over the bark as if unearthing an old treasure. "Ah, still there."
I leaned in. The word PLEASE had been carved into the side. Small crooked letters. You had to look carefully, but there it was. PLEASE.
...
"What is it?"
"A prayer."
"For a child?"
She nodded.
"For me?"
Another nod.
"On a tree?"
"Trees spend all day looking up at God."
...
"So," she said, moving away, "now you know how badly someone wanted you, Charley. Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted."

I hope I can see our new baby as a wish granted always.

...Sharing tales of those we've lost is how we keep from really losing them.

I can't say the I've yet to share stories of my mom's life. Maybe that will be the next phase of my healing process. To tell you the truth, it's been half a lifetime now since my mom passed away and I'm not sure how much of her life I really remember.