Dear Mom,
I know how hard it is for you to be away from us on holidays. I say this as if I have always known, as if I have always appreciated the struggle that is distance from your loved ones. But I don't think I really did understand until very recently. The difference, of course, is that now I have children of my own. And the thought of being across the country from them on special days, or on any day, fills me with such pain I think my heart my break.
I suppose things shift as children grow. Everyone gets more used to independence, more used to separation. Little by little, children spend their lives growing apart from their parents, and I guess that's the natural way of things. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
I used to be slightly annoyed by how much you missed us, how much you insisted we try to get together for holidays. I'm sorry about that. I get it now. It's a strange world in which families are so scattered. Distance from one's origin often seems to connote success. So, here I am, in New York, and there you are, in Indiana. But that doesn't mean I don't wish we were together.
Thinking of you today.
Anna
Being apart from family is difficult and a holiday reminds us of just how much. The line that really rang through to me was "Everyone gets more used to independence, more used to separation." I am feeling some of that today. This was such an honest and beautiful letter to your mom. I hope she sees it.
ReplyDeleteJennifer