By AMY SHANKLAND
Sandwiched
Today I have the privilege of enjoying a Mother’s Day tea with my mom at her facility. With Sunday’s weather looking chilly and rainy, I’m excited to celebrate early with her enjoying one of our favorite beverages. Mom helped ignite my passion for tea at a young age.
I have the honor of speaking for a couple of minutes during the tea to share a story about how my mom has impacted me. I’ll share it with you in today’s column.
In April of 1989, I was a miserable freshman at IU Bloomington. I loved college overall, but was struggling because I didn’t fit in with some of my friends – including my roommate. While they enjoyed partying and staying up late, I was always in bed by 10:00 and wasn’t fond of drinking.
I remember sitting in church one weekday afternoon and having a long cry about the situation. The girls were angry that I was often a “wet blanket” forcing them to find a different room or a place to stay up late. A kind woman briefly sat beside me for a while in the pew and expressed her concern. It was touching.
I went back to my dorm later that day and checked my mailbox. To my surprise, I found a package from my mom. It was a book called To My Daughter With Love on the Important Things in Life by Susan Polis Schutz.
Mom had written the following on the inside:
Amy, may you be as lucky as I am to have a daughter to give this to. With all my love, Mom. April 6, 1989.
I quickly found a private spot in the main building of the dorm and burst into tears again. To have this unexpected precious gift during this difficult time made my heart swell. I was overcome with Mom’s love and knew with all of my heart that things were going to be okay.
I read that book not just once, but three times that spring. I’ve held on to it for all of these years and revisit it from time to time. It’s filled with beautiful essays and poetry that lift my spirits.
Luckily for me, I found my “people” my sophomore year – a wonderful group involved in a co-ed service fraternity named Alpha Phi Omega. These friends didn’t care that I didn’t drink (in fact, some of them felt the same way) and loved me for who I was.
While I don’t have a daughter to share this book with, I do have a future daughter-in-law! I plan on giving this book to her soon, as it is filled with timeless wisdom.
I can’t wait to share this story with Mom and others this afternoon. I realized I’ve never told her how much this gift meant to me. Today, I can take this opportunity to let her know just how much I appreciate her.
May we all do the same for our special moms this coming weekend!