Nobody can deny “Some memories are difficult to forget. A favorite of mine is of one early Christmas morning during my childhood. I remember waking up and seeing my mother patiently sewing a little tear on a shirt she said my younger brother was going to wear for church that day. The sun hadn’t fully risen yet and her face was just partly illuminated by an old lamp she kept near the bedside. I can still picture the tired lines on that pretty face and they haunt and amaze me till this day. After a brief greeting, no further words were exchanged between us. My head propped up on my pillow, I just stared at her as she sat near the foot of the bed painstakingly stitching that tiny tear. One little chore yet profound and telling of how she is.
That picture of Christmas morning so long ago has stayed with me always, manifesting itself again and again like the ghost of Christmas past, especially whenever the month of December breathes in. Her bowed face where I see love, sacrifice, patience and dedication are all wrapped up into one perfect December image.”
I must have been ten years old then. Yet the sensation of drowsily waking up before the first light December mornings like we’ve these days still bring forth, like muscle memory, that image I wish I could relive again if I could. Others may have said this of their own moms but for me, she was the most unselfish person I have known and it humbles no end remembering that.
She would have been 97 years old today. I know old friends and other people just love to mouth ‘bonus’ when it comes to existence beyond seventy but that’s foolish. I’m of the mind to think, if life were a video game, yes. Because if she were still with us today, I can only imagine what her reaction would be to having five great-great grandchildren; all of them rugrats still and eagerly running about. That is as if twenty grandchildren and twenty-one greats were not enough.
I’d imagine during Christmas mornings, her huge tree would be filled with her gifts for the little tots (and she might be half-joking when she’d say “never mind the moms and dads, they’re old enough” to which we’ll all smile.) Truth is, having her to witness all these is the real bonus for us. It makes me wonder, what other little chores would she be coming up with, now that darning torn clothes are beyond her duties? Happy birthday Momsie wherever in heaven you are. See you in a few.
