Me at 6 or 7 in my all time favorite dress.

This is Kathleen.

Gosh I think she’s so cute!

I can see her in that little dress, flinging her arms wide as she dances around and around in the front yard. If I close my eyes, I can be back in that dress dancing around anytime I want.

I wore that dress for so long that it was finally taken away when the hem landed just below my butt cheeks. I loved that dress.

In it, I was fun and light and free.

The memory is delicious and filled with love.

I was listening to an interview Oprah did with Deepak Chopra in India. At one point they were talking about souls and spirit and losing someone you love. I immediately thought of my brother who passed away in December 2010. I don’t remember his exact quote, but Deepak was speaking about losing someone we love and that all we’ve really lost is their physical body. We can join them in consciousness any time we choose.

I was driving so I thought, “I can’t wait to go home and spend some time with Steve”. I know that all I need to do is close my eyes, get quiet and be with him. I’m rarely sad about his loss because I know I can be with him at any moment.

So, I was thinking about Mother’s Day. It’s this Sunday in case you forgot. I’m fortunate that my mom and my mother-in-law and my best friend and other moms I love are all still here in the flesh. I can spend time with them on the phone or in person. The one mother I can’t spend time with physically, is Nancy, my godmother.

Nancy died when I was 8 or 9. She adored me. She had two sons and wanted a little girl. Maybe she couldn’t have a little girl because of her diabetes? She died from the disease and I don’t know all the details. I’m told she was thrilled to have a little goddaughter to shower with love and gifts.

I don’t have many pictures in my mind of spending actual time with her. I remember her smile and the gifts. She was quiet and kind. The gifts felt like love. One time, she gave me a Mary Poppins dress with a little bag and a lipstick. Perhaps she took me to the movie, I don’t recall, but I LOVED that movie. After I saw it, I’d sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the top of my lungs. It made my mom smile. I ruined the dress with the lipstick. The memory is a jumble, but it’s sweet and it’s how I spend time with Nancy. The song is a loving memory of my mom.

Do you have a love memory? Do you have a photo or can you conjure up an image in your mind? The person you want to remember doesn’t have to be gone physically. You can do it with anyone. Your former self as a child. A mother you lost. A sibling or friend who has died. Anyone you can’t be with in person.

Give yourself a special gift this Mother’s Day or any day. Close your eyes, get quiet, remember someone special and get present to love.

I’d love to hear your love memories in the comments.

Happy Mother’s Day!

“The present moment dies every moment to become the past , is reborn every moment into the future. All experience is now. Now never ends.”
― Deepak Chopra

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