Love, Mom
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During that last visit, hospice workers encouraged Mom to talk about her dying and last wishes—to get things unsaid out in the open. First, they asked my mother if she wanted to say anything to my sister and me. The two of us sat quietly in the living room, thinking about what Mom would say. Emotional topics were not her forte. Finally, Mom said sadly, “I wish I had been a better mother.” Then the hospice workers asked my sister and me if we wanted to say anything to Mom. My sister said, “Mom, you’ve been a great mother!” I nodded in agreement, but I was mute. I wanted to tell her I loved her, but I was too shy. We were a family who didn’t readily speak endearments or hug each other. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t say the most important words I’d ever wanted to say. The time had come for speaking up, but I let it slip away. I wondered if I would get another chance. Alone with Mom, I asked her if she was afraid to die. She said she wasn’t afraid, but she didn’t want to suffer the pains of terminal cancer. That April, Mom cried when I said goodbye, as she always did when we parted company. We both feared that would be the last time we would see each other, but we didn’t dare to say the words. I put on a brave face and said, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll see you again soon.” I never did.
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About the Book
Thanks to her mother’s steadfastness in letter writing, Kathy Vikre received news from home once a week for nearly forty years. Within handwritten letters that began with “Dear Kath” and ended with “Love, Mom,” Kathy’s mother shined a light on her Catholic beliefs, compassion, and boundless energy. But what her daughter did not know is that one day the letters, which numbered over one thousand by the end of her mother’s life, would provide both a lifeline and a happy ending to her story. Within a touching presentation that intertwines excerpts of her mother’s letters with details of her own journey through life, Kathy shares a personal look at motherhood and survival that reveals a glimpse into the joys, struggles, and relationships between parents and their children in the years after the Second World War. Decades later after her mother died and Kathy slipped into the darkness of an old depression, she discloses how the process of re-reading her mother’s letters helped guide her inward to eventually rediscover her faith and a renewed happiness in living. Love, Mom shares a poignant snapshot into the lives of a mother and daughter through personal stories and letters as they experienced delights, challenges, death, and a rebirth.
About the Author
Kathy Vikre is an avid reader, expert genealogical researcher, flower child, daughter, sister, mother of two, grandmother of seven, and lover and giver of life. Love, Mom is her debut book.