Day 26

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Millennium Park-Lurie Garden

Eight years ago, my mom and I sat here with our feet in the shallow water, taking a brief break from our Chicago adventures. Mom always wanted something like it at home. She didn’t necessarily want a swimming pool, she just wanted a shallow body of water deep enough to dip her feet into, maybe with a little fountain to keep it flowing.

Sometimes I wonder how it can be that I still have something, but I don’t have my mom. How is it that I still have the necklace I was wearing in the photo from that day eight years ago, but I don’t have my mom? How is it that this place is still the same and looks like nothing has changed, but my mom isn’t here to enjoy it? It’s a thought that comes to me often and while I wouldn’t say it’s pleasant, I’m learning to embrace it. In a strange way, I feel that it’s a form of honoring her and her memory.