To My Mother

I have written thousands upon thousands of words for you. I have felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows around you. You were my number one supporter throughout my sport, academic, and life accomplishments. You are the only one to watch me cry.

You remember the time I burst through the house, face full of tears with the news of my best friend’s departure from this life? I remember. Every day I remember bursting through my best friends’ front door in disbelief from a random text just to see his mother lying on the ground drench in an ocean of sorrow. I laid right next to her, holding her. As I took some pain away from her, you did for me when I came back home.

Do you remember the time I was locked away? Of course, you do. You were the first one there for me. You did not yell, scold, and hurt me. You picked me up and asked me, ‘What did you learn?’

I replied, ‘That I will no longer take life for granted.’

I have never truly been able to repay you for all that you have done. If I were to give you that paradise island you dream of - you know the island, not the one for isolation - but the one where our family and friends can cherish all the time spent and the time that awaits. If I were to do this, it still wouldn’t be enough. But I will try.

I would not be here if not for you. In more than one way. More than a dozen ways. In more ways than I can count. Not only did you give me life, but you gave me hope, support, strength, knowledge, compassion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and a reason to live.

You once asked me the difference between a story and a poem. I told you a poem was something I could write on a card, a story I could not.

So here is the poem I wrote for you during Christmas of 2020:

To My Mother

Life is like a red flower in the middle of a green field,

with rolling hills as far as the eye can see

where butterflies of blues, yellows, and indigo dance.

Just as these images grow and evolve with time

so does my appreciation for you.

You have always been there for me,

and I can never Thank You enough.

I never ask for much, but when I do

you never hesitate to help.

You would offer me the sun if it were yours to give.

I remember when I broke your favorite carousel,

I promise it was an accident,

But still, it shattered, and you forgave me before it even fell.

The fresh scent of pine fills me with joy

as does your delicious cooking.

I want to take this moment

To say that I love you.

Love George