Slice of Life: Believing in Signs ... Thanks Mom #SOL20 #TWTBlog

My sister-in-law was the first person to tell me about signs.  At first, I wasn’t so sure.  I was hesitant to believe that someone could send me a sign from … beyond.  When my dad passed, I didn’t really look. He wasn’t the type to send a sign.  He would just find a way to reach down from above and shake some sense into me.  But with my mom, I wanted to believe.  I needed to believe in signs.

I tried to see a sign. Noticing and wondering, Is that a sign?  How about that, is that a sign?  I felt like a fifth grader trying to figure out when a tree is a symbol and when a tree is just a tree.  And then it happened, first slowly at first, and then more often.  Now I don’t know if these things are really signs or if it is just that I need them to be a sign.  I don’t think I’ll ever know.  I don’t think it matters. It helps me feel connected.  It helps me remember.  It reminds me my mom is still with me.

Last week, as I was doing my last #socialdistancing grocery shop, it happened.  I was working my way through the aisles – 6 feet apart from everyone else.  I couldn’t believe that the rumors were true.  No toilet paper. No Purell or antibacterial soap. No flour.  No chicken breasts.  It was surreal.  For the first time I felt, personally felt, the enormity of what was happening.  I began to question if I had enough food.  If my in-laws had enough food?  What was enough food?  I began throwing things in my cart, not evening considering if I needed them.  I started to feel unrest, bordering on panic. My mind and my heart began racing as I turned my cart, leaving a wide berth for anyone in my path, into the next aisle.

There was my sign.

There was my mom telling me it was going to be okay.  You see my mom LOVED holidays.  She decorated, created special traditions, and always thought about what we would eat.  My mom always made me special birthday cupcakes for school, but at home, it was all about Marshmallow Devil’s Food cake.  This was it year after year.  It is not always easy for me to find this cake, yet there it was, she was, waiting for me.  Letting me know it will all be okay … and make sure you still celebrate your birthday.

The good news is the length of expiration on this cake is something to behold.  I put it in the cart knowing it would last until today.  Thanks, Mom, for reminding me to always celebrate, to keep traditions alive, and to look at the bright side.

What a month it has been … thank you, Stacey, Beth, Betsy, Kathleen, Melanie, Lanny, Kelsey, Marina, Amy, and Therapi for hosting this weekly forum and the March Challenge. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.