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Everyone raised their glasses after the toast before taking a sip of their beverage.
“All right, everyone. If you could just turn your attention to the screen on your right. Cora, Jo, and I have made a video for our mom that we would like you all to see,” Andrea announced to the guests before making her way over to the projector screen that was set up.
The screen lit up with the words “Happy Birthday to you, Mom.” The screen flashed to still photos of their mother, showing a photo of her at one year old, then at five, then seven. The progression continued when their mother went on her first date with their father, and then it skipped to a snippet of their wedding video. The video then progressed through the birth of each daughter and moved on to the birth of her grandchildren. At the end of the video was Cora, Andrea, and Jo talking about their mother.
“My first inspiration to follow my dreams came from my mother. She had reminded me that I could be anything I chose to be because I was smart, and I had a lot to offer. Mom, I know I may have never said this to you before, but I am who I am today because you are the first person that believed in me, and for that, I am grateful. I love you.”
Jo felt herself tearing up at Cora’s message to her mother and looking over at the deck where her mother was dabbing her eyes, she could tell that she was deeply affected by it as well.
Andrea spoke about how her mother represented the hope she thought she had lost all those years ago but now only realized that it had always been there because she had always known that her mother’s love was still available even when she was running.
Then it was Jo’s time to speak. She tensed as she waited for her face to appear on the screen.
“Hi, Mom. I just want you to know that I love you very much, and I appreciate everything that you did for me during my grief. Even though I tried to push you away with everyone, you never gave up on me. You kept reaching out and reminding me that you were there for me and that you loved me. Even though I didn’t admit it then, I want you to know that I thought about your love for me every day, and from that time, whenever I started to spiral, I would remember that you still loved me. I love you, Mom.”
Jo chanced looking over at her mother to see the tears now fully running down her cheeks without hindrance. She placed her hand over her heart as she stared at her daughter, a reminder that she was always in her heart. Jo returned the gesture.
