Skip to main content

A Letter to a Super Mother


Dear Mother:

Although it is difficult for me to imagine you as a messy haired twenty-something-year-old listening to Nirvana, it recently occurred to me that, before my existence, you had your own rockin’ life filled with studying and partying and embracing your days as an adult. Then you decided to have me, without knowing what I would turn out as- if I’d be a boy or a girl? (Both have their highs and lows). A dunce or a genius? (I’m somewhere in between the two, so I hope I didn’t disappoint you). I guess parenting is a tricky gamble and is arguably one of the hardest things to do in life. But I’m really grateful that you didn’t give up on me, even when I was doing annoying things, like refusing to eat my potatoes or drawing on the walls in marker. 

In my preteen years, I’d get mad at you for not letting me use the computer or go out past nine because I thought you wanted to rob me of my freedom; in reality you were just disciplining me into becoming the well rounded person that I am today. I am sorry for all my poorly justified tantrums, and if I could go back in time I’d probably smack myself on the head for being angry about so many petty things. 

You’ve always been there for me, and for that I applaud you. You soothed my tears when I was going through a breakup and you invited me for ice cream during the moments that I needed it most. Even though I’ve known you for nineteen years, I still feel like there’s a lot I don’t know about you, and I want to change that. I am thrilled that you are my best friend and that I can rely on you for almost anything. 

I thank you for devoting so much time, energy, and patience in raising this flamboyant daughter of yours. There is no recipe or guideline to being a good parent, so I daresay you did a pretty good job. Now that I’m an adult, I can appreciate all you’ve done for me, and everything that you still are doing for me. I’m not really sure how you manage it all, but I guess that’s the superhuman strength you possess: being a super mother. 

Love,

Your Daughter

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

We Pretend

We pretend that we'll live forever That tomorrow will bring something better We pretend we're not made of stars As we roam the streets and bars We pretend we'll never die That our kids won't ever cry Over the loss that is our end Every student, teacher, friend Everyone we've ever known Has a constellation they call home When the moon comes out at night I look to them to see the light To all those who did pretend That their story would never end But on some nights, breezy and clear I see the stars and they feel near I can grasp one and hold it in my hand As it takes me to another land We pretend this earth is all there is to see Yet the stars and crickets have spoken to me We pretend we'll never die Because we truly won't To someone's eye

Lost in Rio

Jesus looks over The lost souls and bones below In the jungle sun To witness such beauty And such devastation God painted with one brushstroke Merry men sing Holes in their shoes The dark night lit up By police sirens And the crescent moon Bats flail around Like me, lost in the jungle Eyes glaring all around I hope they're monkeys Or jaguars I hope I can keep a piece of This country with me Safe in my pocket It smells like tropical rain And feels like The clam shells Washed up on the shore It tastes like fried bananas And heavily salted steak Sounds like seabirds cawing Samba on the streets And looks like a page From a storybook About parrots and palm trees Of finding a golden treasure A magnificent, uneasy place When she sun goes down So do we Leaving the night  To the creepy crawlers And innocent stray cats

Miles Away

I refuse to sell my heart, not for twenty-five cents The auction is closed, ladies and gents I’ve already sold my eyes, when they caught sight of the streets So now everyone can see the beauty of my Italian retreat I sold my tongue for gelato, feeling so young Letting the wild berries dance around on my tongue I sold my feet when I traveled to see our Holy Mother in gold Like a saint on a mission, I’ll walk until I get old I sold my ears when I heard beautiful Aida open her lips Echoing through the theatre in which the ancients used to sit But I won’t sell my heart, it is still free For my heart belongs to God and not really to me My heart aches for home, too many miles away Yet for now I am here and I will live for today Yes, I sold my eyes to Italy; it’s all I can see How I wish you were here seeing these treasures with me I’ll try to buy back my sight, taste, and ears too So that I’ll be able to share these memories with you