Angel Mother

A year ago today, I wrote this post...commemorating one of the most wonderful women that ever walked this Earth.  My cousin, Petra.  She was amazing.  Actually, she still is amazing, as she continues to walk in the footsteps of her six children.  A whole year later, I just spent twenty minutes on the phone with her amazing sixteen year old daughter.  (She is number two of six - the only sister in the bunch).  We chatted about what is going on in her life, her plans, her dreams...her mother...and the life she lives without her.  It's been two years.  She asked me to write about her mother again.  Of course, I would love to.

You know, there are the big events in a teen girl's life that her mother play a big role in.  Getting ready for dances, shopping for the perfect dress, talking about her dates...her boyfriend...the whole bit.  I see the photos of Abbey all dressed up and looking beautiful for her school dances.  Of course, I think of her mother.  She would have loved to help her shop for the perfect dress, shoes, and jewelry to get ready for the night.  She would have absolutely loved it.  You know what else?  I see the sparkle in Abbey's eyes.  The same sparkle her mother had.

The thing is, the big stuff is tough.  The dances, graduation, her wedding day without her mother, knowing that her future husband will never meet her...all of it.  Yet, it is the everyday that really tugs at my heart.  The family dinners without the whole family.  Seeing her father without his best friend and other half.  Feeling sick without your mom.  I know that Petra and her caring, nurturing, and loving way to mother her children would want to take care of them through their childhood illnesses...to hold them when they are sick.  Accomplishing new things.  I know Petra would cherish and honor the accomplishments of each of her children.  I know she is proud of each and every one of them.  You know, it is all of the everyday things that mothers do.  I'm just so sorry that she doesn't have the opportunity to do them.  Baking for school.  Team dinners.  All of the fun.  You know, she was so good at all of it, too.

Someday Abbey will get married and have a family of her own.  I'm afraid that when that times comes she will recognize a whole new magnitude of missing her mother.  No one loved babies more than Petra (Hello!?!?  She had six of them!!)  She would want to hold her grandchildren.  Cuddle and spoil them.  Field phone calls from Abbey at 2am when she is worried about a fever for her first baby.  All of it.  

Instead, Petra was called to Heaven.  She had a bigger job to do and God must have needed her.  Even on the worst days of her illness, she wasn't scared.  She knew her Faith and was confident that there was a plan for her.  I know that each and every one of her six children has a special Angel Mother.  She still takes care of them every day.  We may not see her actions in the food she bakes or feel the hugs of her arms, but she is there.  Everyday...watching, caring, and loving her family.  I know she is.  I love that she is there for you, Abbey.  She is always there.