No one can mistake the tri-leveled podiums displayed proudly during the Olympics, the ones that showcase the hard work and success of those standing on display. As I watched the latest medal winners waving to the crowd my friend said something I wasn’t expecting. She commented that while she loves watching the medalists in their winning moment, she really is just patiently awaiting the next moment that will be shown, the “mom moment”, as she called it.
A little bit taken aback by her simple comment, I muttered, “What?”
She replied, “Oh, you know! The mom moment! The one where they scan the crowd to find the mom who is crying and shouting and waving her hands in joy, pride and celebration. The mom standing there in awe of all that her child has just accomplished, that’s what I wait for. It’s my favorite part.”
Oh, how her words hit me. I knew exactly what she was talking about. While I’ve never earned anything close to a gold medal my mother had that same celebratory stance and prideful look clouded by glossy eyes. My mind was suddenly flooded with times of the past that included the very “mom moment” my friend had just described.
Swim meets.
Cheer competitions.
Choir concerts.
Graduations.
The list goes on.
My life has been full of those precious “mom moments”.
“Mom moments”: the moments that fill a mother with such pride, love, adoration and joy it exudes from her eyes, heart, soul and each limb of her body. The moments when a mother’s love is so bright it can light a room and so strong it could hold the world. Mom moments, those priceless moments that showcase a mother’s selfless and never-ending love.
Within seconds the camera zoomed in on several sets of adoring parents, mostly moms, with tear-filled eyes and hearts beating so proudly you could nearly see it through their chests. Priceless “mom moments”. Moments I no longer have the opportunity to experience.
All of my “mom moments” are housed in the past with no hope of any occurrences in the future. Those moments stopped the day my mother took her final breath. The things I was lucky to have that are now absent from my life, the “mom moments.”
Sometimes, in sweet and beautiful moments like these I think about all of us that can no longer experience that bold moment of love. All of us that were lucky to have a past filled with “mom moments” but sadly a future that they will be missing from. Such a bittersweet feeling to be extremely grateful for those that still receive those priceless moments while also holding grief and disappointment for those that won’t.
For those that have and will continue to have futures filled with “mom moments”, please cherish them. Appreciate them. Pay close attention to that smile, those waves, those jumps of joy and the tears created by pride. One day you’ll be grateful that you carved that vision into your memory, because the memory of it will be all that remains.
For those that have future’s absent of additional “mom moments”, I hope you never forget the “mom moments” that have decorated your life with immeasurable love and unwavering pride.
“Mom moments”: the moments that showcase a mother with such pride, love, adoration and joy it exudes from her eyes, heart, soul and each limb of her body. Mom moments, those priceless moments that showcase a mother’s selfless and never-ending love.
I’m so grateful for mine. Are you?
xox, Chels
