Letter to my mother

Today I am beginning to mourn the loss of my mother. You see, it started with me seeing a picture of my mother than had been taken more than 12 years ago in New York City. She was so vibrant and connected in that picture on that day. She was writing a note to those who had lost loved ones in the 9-11 attacks. It was so important to her on that day that she write something.

But now she just writes notes to remind herself of things she might forget. She doesn’t look like this picture now. The Alzheimer’s is slowly but surely stripping that vibrancy and connection from her eyes, and I miss my mom. So, I decided I wanted to write a letter to my mother before it is too late, before she can no longer appreciate how much I love her.

And this got me to thinking that I bet there are a lot of people who owe a letter to their mothers. No, not an email, but a pen to paper letter. A note telling her how much you appreciate her, how much you love her. A note telling her how she makes you smile, how you loved when she baked peanut butter cookies and let you use the fork to put the grooves in the top of the cookie.

Tell her about how you loved it when she let you stay up late that first time to watch a special show on TV, or covered for you with your dad.

Tell her how you remember her on the ground cutting out a pattern and cloth on the floor so she could make you that homemade outfit that might actually fit! Tell her how much you learned about work ethic when you saw her laid out on the couch exhausted after spending the day working at the sewing factory to make sure you could have tennis shoes for your sporting team.

And after you write those letters I would love it if you would send them through the mail to your mom so you can surprise her… just because.

And then if you find it within yourself, I would love it if you could send a copy of the letter to me because I would love to collect them, and put them together into a special project. You can send them to Susan Green/ Letters to my Mother, P.O. box 13641, Phoenix, Az 85002.  Lets overwhelm the post office!

I love my mother, and I know there are plenty of you out there who love your mothers as well. Join me and share this gift with your mom. It only costs the price of a stamp, but I guarantee the look on her face when she gets it in the mail will be priceless!

Susan Green, Phoenix


After I wrote this blog post, KPHO our local CBS station interviewed me for a story on my Letter to My Mother project. Thanks, Miguel, for helping to spread the word:

  CBS 5 - KPHO

Robin Thicke Made My Day, as well as my Mom’s

Moments with my mom are very special, especially since she has Alzheimer's.

I know that as her memories begin to slip away, I am frantically trying to create new ones that I can hold on to in the years ahead.

This week, I had a perfect moment with my mom, one I will cherish forever. In our house, growing up we always had music. My first ever album was the Jackson 5 ABC. (Still have it!) But my parents would play music all the time, everyone from the Temptations, to Mahalia Jackson, to Tom Jones. A bit eclectic, but we liked it.

And I always remember my mother and father dancing together, even though my father didn’t have much rhythm! Believe me, I danced with him a few times myself and he was dancing to his own beat sometimes! But I wouldn’t give up those moments for anything.

Anyway, back to my mom. So, the other day I picked her up and was going to take her out with me to run a few errands. Anything to get her out of the house and get her some stimulation. What I didn’t realize is the stimulation for her brain would begin right as we jumped in the car and turned on the radio. All of a sudden Robin Thicke’s megahit, Blurred Lines started pouring into the car.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but bob my head when I hear this song. The next thing I know, mom is bobbing right next to me! I start singing, she starts smiling, bobbing a little harder and says ”This reminds me of the old days!” She was able to pull back one of her old memories that had disappeared into that alzheimer’s cloud! I almost started crying, instead I started singing louder!

So on this day, Robin Thicke made my mom smile, and he made me smile, giving me a memory I won’t soon forget! Thank you!

Sue
Phoenix, AZ