A Perfect Day

It had to be the most perfect day ever. I watched my daughter walk on that stage and get her high school diploma. I believe that is no small feat. It takes 13 years to get that diploma. There is a lot of dedication and hard work; it is woven by a fabric bound by perseverance, joy, sorrow, triumphs and tragedy. Think of the right of passage of those teenage years; they are some of the hardest years of life. I consider all that my daughter has been through in her brief 18 years, and I find it nothing short of amazing at the young woman she is becoming. Confident and outspoken, but with a poise and grace that I find most compelling. Maybe it’s because I’m her mother, and I look at her through lenses that are definitely tinted with the glow of a deep and undying love; but I see her, I see her soul, and the beauty that lies therein. And I think that all of you see it too.

Your support of my daughter warms my heart beyond my capacity for mere words. As I watch all of you come and go through her days, sharing your love and seeing your very presence in her life, it gives me the assurance that she will always be loved, always be taken care of, always cared for, no matter if I am here to do it or not. I’m afraid to leave, there is no way not to feel that, who wouldn’t be afraid to leave their daughter alone in this world at such a young and tender age. Luckily she has her grandparents, which are the most incredible people in the world, but I look around and I see that they would not be alone in loving her. There is a whole village of people caring for my daughter. I see you out there and I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, of kindness, of giving, of hoping, of believing in my little girl. In my heart and soul I see she is loved, and even if the worse thing in the world happens, and she has to live without me, I am secure in the fact that I will live in her life through all of you. My friends will keep my memory, my spirit alive in her life. And that is a beautiful and comforting thought. That knowledge soothes my soul, down to the depths of my being. Thank you for allowing that peace to be in my heart. It’s one more gift of cancer, the knowledge of that love. Again, your open hearts have allowed you to be the hand of God in the life of mere mortals. What a special and incredible gift that is, to allow God’s love to flow freely through you. A treasure to behold.

I am exhausted, but sated. My cup has completely overflowed with a joy so abundant that words simply fall short. Before I lay my head on that pillow for the night I want to take the time to share with each of you how much this day meant and how much each one of you mean to me and my family. You make a difference in our lives.

I just wanted you to know that - YOU matter. Your heart has become inexplicably intertwined with mine, and for that I am eternally grateful and I will never let it go. Not in this life, or the next. We are in it for the long haul, and I know we are up for the task. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives.