To those of you that still have your Moms call them everyday and make sure they know you Love them. I had the best Mom in the world. She was my best friend and greatest cheerleader. I could tell her that I wanted to change careers and be an astronaut and she would buy me the spacesuit and say, “Do it!” Even though I was labelled “talented and gifted” as a child, the real story was I had a Mom, who taught me to read at three. Oh sure, I was smart. But smarts, without proper nurturing, will not blossom. Everything I have ever dreamed and achieved, came down to having a wonderous Mom, who countered every hater and naysayer with a “you can do it!” Her Love knew no boundaries and she let me be a dreamer of big things. Even if something failed – a business, a relationship – she never said I should not have done it.
She was always there. I remember in high school, I had a crush on this guy who sang every Friday night at this restaurant that served awful Italian food. She drove me there every week and ate that food like it was the yummiest food ever made, just so I could see him. It worked, he was my prom date. Another time we drove four hours to the beach and stayed the weekend to see some other musician. My Mom was always just one of the gals!
She loved dancing and she loved the beach. The week before she was killed, she was doing the electric slide for 3 hours at a family barbecue. I remember me lecturing her about getting home before dark because she was starting to have trouble seeing at night, while driving. The last time I had been down, she hit a mailbox while driving in the dark. So I always joked with her about how mailboxes weren’t safe with her on the road. She came home early from the barbeque that night and was filled with Joy from the wonderful time she said she had. Little did any of us know that ten days later, she would be gone, a victim of doctor neglect.
There is no reason that my Mother should have died how she did. She made it to 80 years old. She lived through segregation and two marriages to grouchy men only to die because of doctor error. My mother had high cholesterol, shockingly high blood pressure, and diabetes. She went to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath – all glaring signs of heart disease!! Even though I insisted they test my Mother’s heart, they claimed it wasn’t necessary. She dropped dead 2 days later with 3 blocked arteries. Watch over your parents, especially if they are older, as I have now learned the healthcare system is rife with these sort of stories.
My Life stopped on April 4th, 2011 and even though I know she is still with me, I will never feel total Joy again until we are reunited.
