Oh Debra! Just beautiful. Sending love and caring thoughts to you and your family. Of one thing I’m completely certain: you are your mother’s daughter.
Oh oh oh you have transported me back to Lake Ripley trips with my mom, Felice Freeman Lenz and bestie Penny Markgraff, the blue Chevy wagon loaded with kids and inflatables, the picnic lunch and waiting an hour before jumping back into the drink, the Fried’s and the Bergs were on a beach blanket somewhere nearby, I am sure. I love your mom, her technicolor swimsuit, the smell of salt and zinc and gel, your sweet little four year old panic, the joyful rescue. I miss you, I miss your mom, I miss mine, too. For all the feels all the time, thank you dearest Debbie for sharing your writing gift with us.
Tess. I remember when you were in this space with Rita. You were so there with her and I could feel your pain and love for her in your words in all the time. Thank you for saying such incredible things - especially today - nothing could have touched me more. Happy Mother's Day, my dear friend. I love you right back.
I’m reading this.. right now.. on the dawn of not just any day….Mother’s Day.
This has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read. I feel every single moment of it.. right down to the space between. The lost. You.. my love are a beautiful writer.. a beautiful friend… and a beautiful daughter. Stay in this space with her. I love you so much. 🩵
Well you really need to send this to The New Yorker. Or The New York Times. And do it now.
The perfect capture of that unforgettable existential panic as a tiny child totally lost and vulnerable. Of your whole world gone, eclipsed. The feeling of seeing your mother again — and therefore the whole and only world you know, reappear.
And then the process at the end. Of wanting to sit next to and just breathe with your mother — to hold onto that world - until she decides — no more.
Capturing all the right things, as usual. Thank you for bringing grandma and grandpa to life in your stories. Nostalgia at its best.
Thank you, my love. xx
Oh Debra! Just beautiful. Sending love and caring thoughts to you and your family. Of one thing I’m completely certain: you are your mother’s daughter.
Roberta! What a lovely thing to say. No compliment could mean more to me. xx
George said it best: “A lifetime of love in 500 words.”
Up to the sky. xoxox
Patti - your support is one of the things that keeps me writing these essays. I can't thank you enough. xx
Just wow.
A lifetime of love in 500 words.
What George said. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for reading it, Kathy.
Well, I wish I were capable of being that concise... but I get the point and love you for making it. Thank you, George. xx
A whirlwind of emotions and memories as we watch our dear mother fight for life at the end. So beautifully written. Thank you, Deb.
That means so much to me... hardest time I've ever had writing one of these, and I wanted to get it right for her and for us. xx
Simply beautiful.
Oh oh oh you have transported me back to Lake Ripley trips with my mom, Felice Freeman Lenz and bestie Penny Markgraff, the blue Chevy wagon loaded with kids and inflatables, the picnic lunch and waiting an hour before jumping back into the drink, the Fried’s and the Bergs were on a beach blanket somewhere nearby, I am sure. I love your mom, her technicolor swimsuit, the smell of salt and zinc and gel, your sweet little four year old panic, the joyful rescue. I miss you, I miss your mom, I miss mine, too. For all the feels all the time, thank you dearest Debbie for sharing your writing gift with us.
You so get me and you so get moms and you so get love. Thank you, my darling. xx
So so beautiful.
Thank you, Jessica!
This vignette speaks volumes about love and loss. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Ruth.
with tears…..so beautiful….such love…
With love back to you, David. Thank you.
Wow. Just…wow.
A "just wow" from you is all I need! Thank you, Alice!
Beautifully told.
Tess. I remember when you were in this space with Rita. You were so there with her and I could feel your pain and love for her in your words in all the time. Thank you for saying such incredible things - especially today - nothing could have touched me more. Happy Mother's Day, my dear friend. I love you right back.
I’m reading this.. right now.. on the dawn of not just any day….Mother’s Day.
This has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read. I feel every single moment of it.. right down to the space between. The lost. You.. my love are a beautiful writer.. a beautiful friend… and a beautiful daughter. Stay in this space with her. I love you so much. 🩵
Well you really need to send this to The New Yorker. Or The New York Times. And do it now.
The perfect capture of that unforgettable existential panic as a tiny child totally lost and vulnerable. Of your whole world gone, eclipsed. The feeling of seeing your mother again — and therefore the whole and only world you know, reappear.
And then the process at the end. Of wanting to sit next to and just breathe with your mother — to hold onto that world - until she decides — no more.
Caroline, I can't say thank you enough. You brought me to tears. I'm sitting with her now. Breathing. And taking solace in what you said. Thank you.