Three Days Apart and a Gate to Heaven
I feel compelled to share something positive. While it is imperative that truth be told it’s also important to still feel like there’s hope, because there is. Never give up hope, or faith and always keep love in your heart. It was three months after losing my mom that I was able to finally fly home and hug my family.
I spent a week staying at the house my mom lived in for almost 40 years. It was a little surreal at first, naturally, but you have to understand that I feel closer to my mom now than I did when she was physically here. I lived in Colorado for 15 years which was a little saving grace because I didn’t see her as often as I would’ve liked.
But we were closer than average and certainly shared a very special bond especially considering our birthdays were three days apart.
She’d tell the story how I was two weeks late and called the doctor one day and said (lovingly I’m sure), “there’s no way I’m sharing my birthday with this child. What do I have to do to make sure that doesn’t happen?” Or something like that.
So she heeded his advice and strolled the neighborhood that morning and sure as shit, I popped out later that afternoon, all 10lbs and 3oz of me. Go ahead and make fun of my picture because I’m well aware I look like a sumo wrestler with a little Mexican mustache.
For sure a face only a mother could love, and she sure did.
The week came to an end and I packed up and flew back to Colorado. I arrived home sometime in the evening and of course started to unpack when I came across two extra things in my suitcase. I know I didn’t pack ’em and I know nobody else packed ’em.
One was a piece of her favorite candy, cinnamon taffy and the other was a MAC lipstick. Now I didn’t see that taffy anywhere in the house during my visit and I knew it was her lipstick because it was shaped funny. A feeling of comfort and warmth came over me at that moment of discovery and of course I cried, the damn flood gates opened.
A week later I was looking through my pictures when I came across one of her bathroom door. Again, I know I didn’t take that picture and I know nobody else took that picture. It was taken sometime late at night and it’s taken from an odd angle too. Not sure exactly what’s going on with the door knob but that’s okay, don’t know, don’t care.
Say what you want but those who believe don’t need an explanation.
It looks like a gate to heaven if you ask me.
— Melissa Parker
— Your Friendly Neighborhood Fearless Leader