An Open Letter to My Mother - Revised 2021

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 Mom, it has been 15 years since you passed on to glory, and this year it feels like yesterday.  I still reach for the phone to call you about a new restaurant, a new outfit, and your new great-granddaughters.

This world is so different now.  Of the many things I miss,  your counsel is at the top of my list.  There is so much rage in the hearts of people. As a nurse, you worked for over 30 years in the mental health profession.  I remember you often said that if the government did not address mental health in America, we would be looking at a total breakdown of society.  Mom, we have mass killings in movie theaters, nightclubs, and even elementary schools.  The first question asked, “Was it a hate crime?” Well, it sure wasn't love!

This world is so different now.  There is this thing the young women are always talking about: Haters/Hating.  I don't understand it; I didn't grow up seeing this.  I remember Aunt Martha, Mrs.Snow, Mrs. Ivey, and your friend of over 30 years, Lizzy.  I only knew women that encouraged you, pushed you, fought with and for you, confronted you, and cared for you.  I don't understand this 'hating' thing, but I have observed it. I understand that many women have not seen positive relationships among women, so they fight against authentic relationships.  I want to scream, "I am not trying to stop you!  I am trying to get you to stand still long enough so I can show you how to get up on my shoulders to reach up higher!"

This world is so different now.  We call ourselves "Social," but we are anything but! Remember how you said not to whisper at the table? Now we text each other, about each other...right through dinner.  Families take separate vacations because everyone is on this thing called "A Grind." And families have been replaced by tribes. Whatever relationship is hard, difficult, or uncomfortable is canceled out, and they call it finding peace.

This world is so different now!  There is this thing called a "Life Coach." Oh, let me define this for you; it is what you would have called "Mother-wit."  We now charge people to learn principles that used to be passed down at the dinner table.  The more you charge, the more of an expert you are considered.  Yep, common sense is not common anymore.  YOU were my first coach!  

This world is so different now, yet I hold on to the words you used to pull me through.  

"Michelle, listen, just LISTEN!"  

I do listen, and I hear so much!  I remember your charge to me, be the example, not just for my family but for all those God has sent my way.  So I shall Courageously!

This world is so different now. So much has changed, but what never changes is love.

So I shall pass on what you gave me. LOVE!

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