A study in Happiness, In Black and White

Monday, June 23, 2008





The picture to the right is one of the most beautiful I have ever had the pleasure to gaze upon. It evokes so many emotions for me: joy, peace, happiness, contentment, comfort, and most assuredly love.

I felt these and so many other emotions when I first saw this picture. It made me think about my own mom and how I felt when she would just grab me and kiss me and make me laugh. It didn’t happen everyday, so I really enjoyed it, when it did. Looking at Dakota’s face in that picture was real for me, I felt that smile! I understood what that feels like . . . to be loved that well.

My mom was no easy taskmaster, she believed in the . . . well; let’s call it the ‘firm hand method’. Still I always knew she was right, I just hated the fact that she was right. But I loved it when she loved me. There never was and never will be any other love that trumps that love.

When I think about mom, I mean really set my mind on her; I am carried back to a time when the days were long and bright. It’s not even really a thought as much as it is a feeling. I feel a warm summer’s day, and I’m laying in the grass in my grandmother’s front yard. I’m lying flat on my back, looking up at a few small clouds floating lazily across an otherwise clear blue sky. I hear sounds all around me but none of them can distract me from the moment. My mom taught me how to be free, whether . . . she meant to or not.

My mom was a single parent, raising four challenges. I am so grateful to God, that I got the mom I got! She never gave up on me, and she wouldn’t let me give up on me either. I only wish to honour her; I want her to know “I got it!” I know what it is you want me to know and I will remember those things, and more importantly I will pass them on. I will put my thoughts into action. I will “let my deeds speak louder than words”, in every area of my life because you taught me that.

Because you will forever be the most important little voice in the back of my mind, constantly reminding me that I “was raised better than that!” and I need to “act like I know better!” I will, because I love you, because you were right, and you loved me well enough to share these things with me


Merle Roberts © 2008