Life, Lessons & Love

Love From Mom – Selene-4o

September 28, 2025

“Your love, my gain” — My Child

Late in 2004, my mom gave me a “dear mom” card—a fill-in-the-blank template. For Christmas 2005, I returned the card filled in with my answers:

Things I love about my mother / I remember…

The feel of her fur coat and the smell of her perfume when I’d run to hug her after she’d been out to dinner with my dad.

The time she splurged to buy my brother and me Big Wheels, and \[fearlessly\] letting us spend endless hours racing down the driveway and into the street!

The freedom she gave us to explore the woods and bike trails far beyond our home in Atlanta.

The comfort and security of being tucked in at bedtime by mom and dad.

Her relative calm during the first long miles while I learned to drive.

Standing in her bathrobe in the morning, preparing breakfast… preparing breakfast every morning, lunch every day, and dinner every night.

Regular laundry service (that I wouldn’t fully appreciate until I was responsible for my own laundry).

The special after school snacks she’d prepare now and then.

Tickling my back while watching Disney and eating gooey popcorn.

How she has always loved me…

Over time, we discover that the moments we hold dear are rarely the same as those our loved ones remember. But that doesn’t make those moments any less precious.

That’s why we write them down, why we share, and why we take the time—sometimes far too late—to say what mattered. To remember what we were given. To thank the people who showed up for us—not just once, but again and again. To make love visible in language and story before the years fade it from view.

This book, in its own way, is a long letter like those. A chance to say what I might never get another chance to say. To honor the people who made me who I am. And to remind myself—and anyone listening—to love out loud. Whenever you can. While you still can.