I cried as Joannie Rochette opened her arms to present herself to the world and accept its applause before her performance. Because you know the one voice that wasn't cheering was the only one she wanted to hear--and that silence most likely weighed out all the other praise.
She lost her mom to a heart attack just two days before her short program. Her performance is moving. You can watch it here.
Moms really are so much of the magic we experience in life.
I heard a photographer speak at convention once who had recently had a friend photograph his family with their aged, ill mother. Nothing was posed or unnatural. His mother was blind so she kept her hands on their faces and her cheek close to theirs in order to communicate and "see" them. They are some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. He described them as portraits of a family saying goodbye.
Soon after that day his mother passed away. On his flight to her funeral he looked out the window at the city lights below. He said he remembered thinking,"All of those people down there are going to wake up soon and go about their daily lives having no idea anything has changed, but the world will never be the same without my mother in it."
Mom's fuel life. So much of what I have tried and achieved has come about because my mom believed in me--and told me so. And I heard her telling others.
And when I have a new idea or thought or experience I call my mom. I usually know what she'll say, but somehow it's not the same if I don't hear it from her. And I truly believe she enjoys it as much as me. Natasha Gregson Wagner said, "I thought my mom's whole purpose was to be my mom. That's how she made me feel."
I love that, because it's exactly how I feel.
And I can't imagine giving the performance of a lifetime in any arena without knowing she was there, heart pounding, hands shaking, saying a little prayer for me. Crossing her fingers at all the hard spots and celebrating each tiny accomplishment.
I know it's been said so many times but I honeslty feel that while, to the world you may be one person, to one person you may be the world.
Especially if you happen to be a mom.
4 comments:
Thanks for the moving post...brought me to tears. You are a great writer. Thank you for that.
Candis, you really are so eloquent. And you really do have a fabulous mom!
This is very nice!
"All of those people down there are going to wake up soon and go about their daily lives having no idea anything has changed, but the world will never be the same without my mother in it."
I have had that exact thought many times. It's so funny that people spend their whole lives wanting what other people have. But at the end of the day, the most important things to us are the parts that no one else can understand.
My mom is my mom. She may not impact others' lives as much as my own, but she has. Isn't that great though? We have the potential to mean the world to someone. THAT is a refreshing perspective.
I love this post. One of my really good friends lost her mom 2 years ago. She's about to give birth to her 3rd baby, and it's the first one her mom hasn't been around to help with. I don't even have words to comfort her with. It makes me grateful for my mom. And makes me want to be a better mom to my kids so they will want me around.......
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