LEARNING TO PLAY WELL WITH OTHER CHILDREN

This is my favorite photo from childhood. It’s the very first picture taken of me, but that’s not the reason it’s my favorite. It ran on the front page of the local paper because I was a New Year’s baby, but that’s not why it’s my favorite either. It’s my favorite because it’s the first photo taken of me and Mom together. If that makes me the quintessential mama’s boy, then so be it.

2010 was not my best year. I spent five weeks at my mother’s bedside while she fought for her life in the ICU. She passed away on a gloomy day in late October while Dad and I were holding her hand. It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry.

She’s been gone for several weeks now, and we’re still struggling to pick up the pieces. The holidays were even tougher than expected. It didn’t help that I kept absent-mindedly setting a place for her at the table. The tears still flow daily, but we’re slowly beginning to adjust to life without her. Mom devoted her life to making ours better, and she wouldn’t have wanted us to give up on living. We’ve made it through our first Thanksgiving, our first Christmas, and our first birthday without her. It’s not going to be easy, but we know we’ve got to keep going. It’s time to start stepping back into the sunlight.