Words Not Spoken
For ‘Mom’ Emilie
‘Step’ never came before the word mom, not from our mouths.
My tiny love story is about my mom. She came into my life when she was 42, and I was 7. I remember the comfort and security she brought to us, her ready-made family of 5… blending her life with ours…really, giving up hers.
And it’s that part, her single life before us that I wish I knew more about. I regret never saying, “Tell us about – your days of working as “Rose the Riveter” during the War or your train travels with friends” I wish I had asked, “What were your favorite sights at the Chicago World’s Fair?”
“Mom, you are one of the greatest love stories of my life.”
I will always wish I had spoken these words: “Tell me about your life, as Emilie, before you stepped into ours, as Mom.”