MandatoryPositive

The Pic that started it all! This time last year my daughter was trying on wedding dresses. Despite all of the restrictions and shifting plans, I wanted to make sure she got her "moment". I had been front and center shopping with her for jr. high formals, swirls, graduation dresses, homecoming ensembles and cotillion dresses. She always looked fabulous in the end.  I would like to say that each and every shopping experience was filled with fun and laughter and pure happiness, but that would be a LIE from the pit of hell.  I remember 8th grade when she wanted a basic sequins dress that everyone else had (insert eye roll). It was cheap looking and tacky and was not flattering and I said as much (ouch).  To add insult to injury my equally as vocal mother mirrored my sentiments and added some of her own. My daughters little feelings were HURT. My mom told her it was better to be mad now then she mad later when she wasn't cute. I'm pretty sure a tantrum was thrown, but if ...

This photo was taken 6 days before mom passed away. To look at her I would never know the end was coming.  I thought there would be more time, I always thought there would be just one more day. So many times there were-until there were not.   Some people say the animals sense these things. Mom was ALWAYS Herk’s person, so it didn’t strike me as odd that he followed her around driving her crazy.   She was getting tired and spent a lot of time on this couch. She would sit on one side and he would sit on the other. I always said I didn’t want him on the furniture, but I had long since given up because he brought mom peace and she deserved that.  Through the years whenever mom would go to the hospital, Herk would stop eating and would sit and stare out the window waiting for her to come home. When she had extended stays he lost weight, didn’t want to eat, and wouldn’t even lift his head to be petted.  In her final days I often found him laying at her feet curled up....

  WRITING PROMPT: Write about something that was hidden in plain sight. Did other people notice it? Was it significant to someone else?  Through a series of unfortunate events, my mom lost most of her stuff. I won’t go into why, mainly because it’s no one’s business, and partially because I always feel bad that I didn’t do more.  I always tried to tell her that it was just “stuff” and it wasn’t important. I was trying to make her feel better, but I’m pissed off at myself for ever saying that. It was HER stuff and she was hurt.  In particular, she wanted these brass elephant book ends and blue floral lamp.  Oddly, I couldn’t for the life of me remember these items. I think it annoyed her when I said that. She would often reply “yes you do!”   Apparently these lamps and bookends were significant. They had made it through several redecorations and she loved them.  She had a sad look whenever she spoke of them.   Today while looking through old photos...