Jen’s Gem: Little memories are part of life’s tapestry. Treasure them always.
The other day I was reminded of a line from the movie “You’ve Got Mail” spoken by Meg Ryan regarding the texts she was sharing with Tom Hanks. The exact quote was
“The odd thing about this form of communication is that you’re more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings.”
I happened to be thinking about my mom when this line found its way into the front of my brain. It caused me to remember some of the small things her and I did together that in their own rights meant little but now that she’s gone, mean so much.
They’re part of the collective memory of my mom and I’m grateful that they found their way back.
Memories…Light the Corners of My Mind…
We tend to remember the big moments we share with our loved ones – events, celebrations, or holidays but sometimes it’s the small ones that mean even more.
For example, I remember…
the day we made her amazing sauce and despite us doing the exact same things at the exact same time, hers tasted sooo much better,
her compliments about how nice the holiday tables looked when I’d set them,
when she’d give me crackers and ginger ale and let me stay in her bed when I was sick,
the look of panic on her face when I’d fallen down our porch steps and cut my hand open,
how much she loved a slice of pizza and a beer from the local pizza joint,
that she was able to keep every holiday preparation detail in her head from meals to gifts to decorations,
when she’d ask me to play the piano because she thought I played well,
her award-winning poker face when we’d play cards and she’d beat us all,
her singing a nonsensical tune to my newborn son as she held him near,
the regret in her voice at not being able to attend my Master’s degree graduation ceremony,
her saying through crocodile tears in her bathroom, “I can’t call Mama anymore” when her mother died,
her last words to me and praying she heard mine.
Happy Mother’s Day!
This Mother’s Day, as you share time with your mom, I’d like to encourage you to remind her of some of your little ‘nothings’. I suspect they will mean more to her than the big somethings.