I remember vividly the first Mother’s Day after my son died. Had there been a vote that year, I would have cast mine for the abolition of Mother’s Day. I didn’t want there to be such a day and I didn’t want anybody to remind me that it did indeed exist.
My response to those who were left to love me was to pull away and isolate myself. A BIG MISTAKE!
Between the first and second Mother’s Day I made a number of discoveries. Probably the most important one I made was that my surviving child needed to be allowed to show her love for me. She was and is as important as my son who died and has that right. I also learned that my salvation lay in the hands of those people who cared for me, and when I learned to let them help me, I helped myself. Help yourself this Mother’s Day.
—Mary Cleckley, Jack Cleckley’s Mother
Lawrenceville, GA
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