A stack of towels. Simple.
An item that every single one of us has in our home.
But, this stack of towels is more.
This is last gift that my mother gave to me… six months and one day after her death.
How did this happen?
The year before, I had remodeled my bathroom, and I requested new bath linens in a particular color as the perfect Christmas gift. Unbeknownst to me, both my sister and my mother purchased bath linens for me. When my mother learned that my sister had purchased the item, my mother – never one to dull our excitement over wrapping *the perfect gift* – tucked hers away, never to be mentioned again.
11 months later, in going through things hidden in closets and under beds, my father found this treasure.
Though tears, I opened this gift on Christmas Day.
A gift from an angel in heaven.
A gift so unexpected that it took my breath.
My Mother
My mother was a beautiful soul who loved nothing more than to create surprises. She would pick my girls up from school and surprise them with a quick ice cream celebration. She would show up at my house with fun surprises for my girls that she had picked up in her travels. She would spend hours creating Halloween candies, handmade Easter Eggs, or Holiday floral arrangements and deliver them to all of the ladies in our neighborhood – visiting for hours with each and every one. You can comb through her social media pages, and you will never find a post where she mentions these moments. She loved to make other people smile – and did not want public validation for her beautiful deeds. She cherished the smiles, laughs, notes, and personal visits … and she needed nothing more than her full heart.
I want to live more like my mother.
In my work, with students and adults, what warms my heart and fills my soul? What can I take away from each encounter to personally validate my work and fuel future steps … while intentionally skipping publicity/social media? What can I tuck away in the closet, forgetting completely, so that others can shine in the moment?
In short, what would my Mom do?