Proud

by | Jul 30, 2010 | 0 comments

July 17th, 1999- (incidentally our wedding date 5 years later though we didn’t realize that when we picked it)- we drove down to Maryland to play at a church youth rally. We had met three times before this and I liked you, but it was on this trip that we both fell in love. You called me every night after we got home.

There are many special memories from our conversations during that car ride. Mostly we talked of very simple things, and you told corny jokes. What I remember more than anything was that I had a smile on my face for most of the ride because you were just fun to be with.
I told you at one point that I had gone to UVa and did fairly well there, (academia was pretty much my whole identity at the time), but you surprised me by saying this:
“Wow- I’m so proud of you.”
It was odd to hear that particular sentiment from someone I barely knew. But I really liked it. You were proud of me.
And now I am just trying to function and make it through another day of this. I am trying to still be the kind of mother I want to be for Audrey and not cheat her of me as well as you. And as I make her laugh, or wipe up the floor under her high chair, or teach her a new word, I feel as though you might- just might- be watching us. And I want to make you proud.

JAC

July 30, 2010
v

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like…

December 17, 2014- A New Blog

It has been almost a year and a half since I last wrote on this blog.  In my mind, this blog was complete.  And yet, there was a lack of finality to it.  Grief has no finality, though it does have evolution and change, while this blog does have finality simply because...

Speed of Light

On the eve of your death I am watching town fireworks the day after the fourth of July. I am overwhelmed by the crowd of families around us on blankets with glo-sticks and cotton candy as we wait for darkness in the still, hot, summer air.  There is a Korean...

Father’s Day 2013

Father’s Day 2013

This is the third time.  It is brutal.I haven't felt it helpful or complex enough to say, "It's not fair; it's just not fair," in the past three years.  But on this day, I think those words a lot. Unless your young child has lost a parent, you cannot imagine...