A Last Treasure From My Mom

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Growing up there are so many things a parent does that you don’t even think twice about it. Now that I’m slowly losing my mom, it makes memories flood to the surface of the little things I took for granted.

If you’ve followed my journey, you know my mom has Alzheimer’s. If you want to see what I’m talking about, here’s a link to my original story:

My Mother is Disappearing

Through the last decade pieces of my mom have disappeared. The past year though it’s almost as though she’s aged thirty years. She can no longer manage to get onto an escalator, or use a public bathroom by herself. She forgets how to get out of a car.

But it’s the really little things that hit me the hardest.

I had my first grandbaby last November. This week, I received a letter addressed to my from my dad. Inside was a card saying congrats on the new grandbaby.

Nothing odd about that, right?

But handwritten inside was a note from my mom and I cried like a baby.

My mom was a kindergarten teacher for over twenty years. She taught hundreds of children to write their name and learn how to read. She was instrumental in their education.

This note she wrote to me was only two sentences long, and I could see the struggle she had writing each and every letter. She misspelled a couple words like “your” and “mom”. It really broke my heart to know that it won’t be long before she has no idea who I am.

It made me remember when I was five. I was in kindergarten and wanted to learn how to write in cursive. She had me get my pad of paper and a pencil and sat me in her lap with her arms wrapped around me. I will never forget how I was hypnotized by her soft hand wrapped around mine as she guided it writing the cursive word ‘love’.

Over and over we sat there writing different words and I remember being amazed at how beautiful her handwriting was. Every time I would write a word on my own she’d give me a hug and tell me what a great job I’d done.

Now, her handwriting is shaky and hard to read, but I am so thankful for it. It brings back such good memories of her that I will forever treasure. She might not remember, but the marks she left on me, that I will pass through the generations will never be forgotten.

This card means the world to me, and as heartbreaking as it is, I love it so much.