A Daughter's Promises

I remember wracking my brain for months leading up to Christmas, wondering what to get my Mom on, what would be, her last Christmas with us. What would she enjoy or have use of in such a short amount of time? She had everything she needed and she, of course, wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by her kids.

Now, most people will tell you I'm an introspective soul, highly emotional - a big, fat feeler. While feigning interest in my job one morning, I remembered my Mom was worried about me because I was the single child with no spousal emotional support and she was afraid of how the impact of her death would affect me. So how could I set her mind at ease before she passed? A floodgate of tears opened up and I basked in all the loving words of wisdom, lessons in morals and ethics, and tradition she had bestowed upon me in my 33 years and so, "The Box of Promises" was born.

As a family, we came together the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with my Mom. I waited until the house quieted down that night, sat all my brothers and sisters down around the living room, and handed my Mom her present. The gift was a simple box with the words "I Promise..." on the inside lid. She opened the box and read each card aloud for all of us kids to hear. Each card was something I promised my Mom I would remember or do after she was gone.

All the promises were things she used to say to me, memories we shared together, inside jokes...

Promises to put a Mother's mind at ease knowing that her baby girl would never forget what she had learned, where she came from, and that a Mother's love never dies - it carries on for generations.