If you were here today......

If you were here today..... 

Here is what you wouldn't do first.....

• Clean the kitchen
• Sweep the floor
• Cast a glancing eye at the dust here and there
• Roll your eyes at the McDonald's bag on the counter

These never were your strengths and thank Heaven they weren't, even though you spent a lifetime worrying over them.  I am glad they really didn't matter in the end.....

Here is what you would do instead: 

1. You would be anxious to hear the kids sing and dance, (only you would be able to get them to do it too!) 
2. You wouldn't be able to restrain the urge to teach them something along the way as well, some dance move, or encouragement for something artistic. 
3. You would "ooh" and "ahh" no matter what they did and you would make them feel like it was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen.
4. You would tell them the stories of how you would dance as a little girl with your sisters for the troops during WWII and how the soldiers would throw pennies on the stage which you loved!
5. You would tell them to smile and shine all the time
6. You would squeeze every detail of worth out of each moment
7. You wouldn't dare leave without letting each know of their infiinte worth and potential and how the Lord would bless them.
8. You would make each one of them feel so unique and special.
9. You would give them each a breathless tight hug, as if it would be your last....  

They would feel your excitement and enthusiasm for true and free expression....  They would start practicing the minute you left for the next visit.

As I play the film in my mind's eye, it is so clear and vivid that it is as if you really were here.  I know the script, I can hear the dialogue, I know all the camera angles, yes...even when to zoom in on a particular moment. Predictable plot?  Oh yes!, but always special. I know the beginning, middle and end.... oh, the ends were so hard...the longing looks, the hugs that didn't need to be so tight, but were anyway.  Your film is perfect, always re-watchable, always in technicolor, always ending with a lump in the throat.

Keep dancing Mom, never stop and thank you for that lasting legacy....... abraco,

Happy Mothers Day