"Pina" the "Perfect" Mom

This year will mark the 14th anniversary of my mother's death. In those 14 years, so very much has happened; events I know my mother would have loved to attend, milestones achieved with which she would have wept with joy, and even some little moments that I sincerely wish I could have shared with her in person. There are other moments too, where I just wish she were here listening or talking me through my thoughts. Moms can be so very good at that.

My mother would have been 80 years old this month. I would always tease her, if her birthday happened to fall on Mother's Day, by telling her that she would only receive one gift. She would give me her famous response, "Maria, I don't care. You don't have to get me anything." Anytime a mom says that, she is fibbing. Everyone loves to receive something, sometime, and more so on special days.

My gifts were always small and affordable, yet endearing. One year, in an attempt to beautify her backyard, I purchased a petite azalea bush. Afraid that we would both kill the flowering poof if it were planted outside, it thrived in her windowsill overlooking the backyard for many years. Eventually it succumbed to our brown thumbs; we were terrible gardeners. Today, my mother would delight in the many flowers and plants that are thriving in my yard, under my green thumb.

My youngest son will graduate high school this summer. While my mother was living, my youngest son was the baby in the family. I have a beautiful picture of the two of them taken on his 1st birthday. She is beaming with her beautiful electric smile, while he is looking on with his cake smudged face and hands. The baby she knew is grown and about to enter the adult world. How I wish she could be here; how I wish I could have one more beautiful photo of them... It rained during my college graduations and during my other son's graduations. In my heart, I have told myself the rain is my mother crying her tears of joy in heaven. I hope the tradition repeats itself, and it rains during my youngest son's graduation.

14 years seems like a long time, long enough to heal a wound. Truth is I do not want that wound to heal. I want to miss her, to remember her, to cherish every moment I had with her. She was my "perfect," beautiful, silly, understanding, heart of gold mom. As I am typing this, my youngest son has called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. It is going to be a beautiful day.

Smile Though Your Heart is Aching

**Image from allaboutjazz**

The news media has pretty much been crawling all over the death of Michael Jackson, and I am sure many are tired of all this coverage. I have limited my viewing of all this coverage, as much of it is mere speculation. Today though, I am choosing to watch the tribute/farewell as closure for myself, because I grew up listening to and loving the music of Michael Jackson.

In more recent years, Michael's image had been greatly tarnished; I sincerely hope that everyone remembers his humanitarian efforts. In the words of Bernice King, Michael rose above his own needs to meet the needs of others. He was a humanitarian, he wanted to "heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me."

Though I do not always agree with Al Sharpton, today he made a statement to Michael's children that is so true,"You're father was not strange, what he had to put up with was strange." In more ways than one, that statement holds many truths. I will leave it to individual readers to contemplate that statement.

Michael should leave us with inspiration to be the best possible, to do for our fellow man what we can, to give back to society, to thank those around us, and to always fight the good fight. When I continue to think of Michael, I hum his tune Man in the Mirror, and that gives me the inspiration to better myself so that I can continue to give back and fight the good fight.

Here is a link to a wonderful video of Michael singing Man in the Mirror
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwu3D-Luo-E

Thank you Michael; God Bless you and your family. Heaven is gong to have one heck of a choir now!