We moved a few years ago, and we had a closet that needed some reworking. In doing so, my husband found some old photos. He pulled out an album that held this vintage photo of my mom, my sisters, and me. It was probably circa 1983 when prints were made from Kodak.
I actually don’t remember seeing the photo before.
But I love it.
In the photo, my mother’s eyes are shut with a blink because those were the days when blinks weren’t edited. It’s beautiful, and I can’t stop thinking about the captured connection.
She was showing us something in her hands.
We were in awe watching her with curiosity.
I think that it may have been one of those dried leaves from a tree, the ones that can make a noise when you blow into them a certain way. I think they were Maple seed pods. Nature’s toy. But I’m not sure.
I do know that it’s childhood wonder wrapped up in one photo.
Look how captivated we were.
Look at the smile of wonder. But behind it? I know exactly what it is.
Love that lasts even through decades of loss, passed on to our own children. We have raised nine of her grandchildren between my sisters and me. Each one was born in the years after she passed away after an unexpected illness in 2007. They are now tweens and teens, but even so, we talk about her. We do what we can to honor her memory.
She loved each of us very much, and she would have adored watching us grow in motherhood. And you know what? It’s the kind of love that you can still feel, after all these years.
That’s the kind of mom I want to be.
The one with love that lasts.
In memory of my mom, Anita
02/01/1948—10/19/2007
by Christie Lynn 
by Jennifer Toscano 
by Angela Anagnost-Repke 
