« Be bigger than your fears. »
Dorothy
My mom darling mom Dorothy’s birthday is tomorrow — December 20. She passed away of pancreatic cancer in 2004. Since then, my beautiful sister Stephanie and I often get together to celebrate her birthday by going to a cozy restaurant in Manhattan not far from where my mom lived for lunch. They serve great cheeseburgers there — one of my mom’s all-time favorite meals. And so Steph and I have burgers and fries in her honor. We also hoist a glass — either a gin & tonic or a Bloody Mary, depending on how we feel. My mom was a gin & tonic gal, but she also enjoyed a good Bloody Mary now and then.
As I sit here feeling sad and missing my mom, I’m surrounded by many reminders of her. They’re all over my office. There’s a beautiful picture of her when she was young on my desk and other pictures of her holding my son Alex when he was little. She adored him and he felt the same about her. “Dot, I need you!” he would call out when he wanted help with a button or tying his shoes.
I also have all sorts of knickknacks from my mom’s apartment — a silver wizard standing atop a huge amethyst stone is my favorite. Nestled by it I have a Fortune cookie slip that says: “You should be able to undertake and complete anything.” The two are perfect together, because my mom really believed that about the people she loved. She believed that we could do anything we set our minds to.
Anything! Whenever I was discouraged about my writing, I could call her up and she’d give me a pep talk. She was always in my corner. She had a tough life in many ways, but she was a Sagittarius and like the Archer, she was always outward bound and optimistic, young at heart and adventurous.
« Be bigger than your fears, » she said to me once. Great advice for all of us. So today, in her honor, I’m passing it on. “I need you, Dot!” That’s what Alex used to say when he was little. So now, I’m saying it, too: “I need you, Dot!”
“You can commend respect or you can settle for living in fear”. It’s so interesting that during a conversation I had this week with a patient, he said this to me. He said someone had said it to him. Today, I read this beautiful tribute you have written about your Mom. Happy Birthday to her in heaven.
As I get older and older Respect over Fear is winning.
Timely for sure.
Blessings and joy to you and your family.
Hi Janis,
How wonderful to hear from you and to know that you are reading KWD—it means so much to me! I apologize for not saying this sooner—alot happening over the holidays!
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful insight about Respect and Fear: its so important to be « bigger than or Fears » as my Mom said so well!
And thank you for your beautiful words about the tribute I wrote to my darling Dorothy. I think of her every day and even now I know she is watching over me and guiding me.
Wishing you and your lovely family every joy and success in the year ahead!
Write on,
Karin
Karin, this is such a loving remembrance of your mother. Makes me want to know her, and makes me feel like she’s still here.
Hi Deirdre,
So wonderful to see your comment—sorry it’s taken me a while to respond!
Thank you so much for your lovely words about my remembrance of my Mom.
My beloved Dorothy was always supporting and helping me and even now, I feel she’s with me, guiding and loving me—truly a blessing.
Write on,
Karin