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with June Rollins Visit June’s website at: www.junerollins.com
Listen to Your Mother Winter’s shorter days and colder temperatures often give rise to more reflection. Memories of my mother have been especially poignant for me as we move into this New Year. After her passing in 2013, something surreal happened. I received a birthday card from her. She passed away the morning of April 9th, six days after my birthday on April 3rd and five days prior to her ninetieth birthday on April 14th. It was two weeks after her funeral when the cheerful orange envelope appeared in our mailbox with my name and address in her almost illegible handwriting shakily sprawling across its front. It had apparently been lost in the mail or delayed in being sent. But there it was, a message from my mama from the other side. I opened it with trembling hands. The front of the card was decorated with a variety of brightly colored shoes announcing, “It’s your birthday!” The inside read, “Put on your party shoes!” I laughed. My mother loved shoes and she loved having a good time. 20
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But it was her wobbly word’s written beneath the card’s upbeat sentiment that made the ground shift beneath my feet. “I am doing fine. Love, Mama.” I treasure that card. It’s an undying symbol of my mother’s love and a reminder to make time for fun. Here’s one more story about her. During her last year in assisted living, she was an insulin dependent diabetic in a wheel chair. She loved sweets and to her, being placed on a sugar free diet was intolerable. Mama enjoyed playing bingo and often won. One day she pulled me close and whispered, “They’re not going to get the best of me. I take my quarters and I roll down to the vending machine and I get me a Honey Bun.” My mother was a feisty and fun-loving woman and I heard her voice as clear as a bell just yesterday, “Buy those red leather ankle boots if you want them.” So, I did. Wishing us all treasured memories to lovingly carry us into the New Year—June.
