Overcomer

On the way home from work, this song, "Overcomer" by Mandisa was playing on the radio and I was morphed back to exactly a year ago.

It was the perfect day (for this made-for-heat-girl), blue skies with streaks of white clouds, mid 80s temp, and the anticipation of experiencing Disney World with my exactly 9mos old daughter.

We were walking down the sidewalk over a bridge in The Magic Kingdom and mom was about 20ft ahead of the group. While walking along she started singing, "You're an overcomer... You're an overcomer" (pretty sure that's the only line she remembered and repeated a few times) fairly loudly. I remember smiling and forcing back tears at the same time.

She was SO alive, SO free, living it all up and holding nothing back. It was beautiful. I would love to be transported back to that moment, that day, the trip.... and then just have it in a holding pattern.


But, this is real life.

I am confined to recalling the memories. I just pray they won't fade too much, or too fast. So here I go, repeating some of them so I can come back and reflect when my memory fails me...

We made so many memories... some of the favorites were when mom spent money without a thought, or when her thoughts were just hilarious about it because this was NOT her style at all. She was the coupon queen!
Growing up, it was a "mark it on the calendar" event when we went out to dinner as a family WITHOUT some sort of coupon or deal! She was frugal, and although I complained about it as a child, I wouldn't have it any other way(most of the time, because I could do without the guilt I have now when we go out to eat without a coupon.. lol).
SO... for her to enjoy this trip mostly coupon free and watch as she picked out her designer purse at the outlet mall (knowing it might only get a few months of use) was SUCH a joy!! Okay, so she got an amazing deal being at an outlet mall, (which made her excited too) but still it was one of those "frivolous" purchases that wasn't her norm.

There were many memories made during the drive in the RV... some so funny our sides hurt, some that were tiring and rough, some that were sweet and deep.

One evening in the dark of the night traveling, mom shared with me her struggles with the depression in the summer and how God brought her through that and the joy that she finally experienced.  I wish I could remember the details of that conversation, but they evade me. All I can put into words that make sense, is that it was a precious time for us to talk as it had been awhile. I do remember she asked me what I liked/loved best about being a mom. It was a hard question to answer at the time, mostly because of the circumstances from so many angles.

Let's see... I've drifted a bit... I don't really know where I'm going with this blog post...
that's why I only have one "official" follower :) as if it really matters... :D

I'm pretty tired so I think I'll just stop now... maybe I'll add more later

Thanks for reading.