Features - Love

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they give in.

I’m kidding… but not about the stalking part. My mother loves me, I’m sure about that, but I need reassurance. And I need attention. Did I mention I like to be center of her world? I’ve seen my share of heartwarming family dramas and I know moms are on put on earth to serve their daughters, except in my case.

My eight-five year old mother has a life. And it’s severely cutting into our mother-daughter time. Her social calendar is so full, in order to get on it, I have to call every day, hoping for a cancellation. So I stalk by telephone and enjoy every minute of it. I’m grateful to have a mother with a love of life equal to her
love for me.

-Susan Diamond

Fussing Over the Folks

Help me to not worry
when the phone rings and rings
and my messages go unanswered.

Let me take a deep breath
and picture them;
not in a ditch,
but where they usually are these days—
touring a winery,
hiking a woodland path,
or on yet another trip.

The life they are living today is
their reward for years of labor,
sacrifices made when we were children.
I know this even as I envy them.

They have the leisure I want for myself.
But today, it is theirs.
Let my smile mirror your smile,
as they enjoy their health,
their time, and their lives,
dedicated at long last to enjoying the world
You have made and the leisure You grant.

-Sue Bradford Edwards

"Should grown children worry about their parents?
When is the right time to weigh in on the decisions
made by aging parents?"