Be Blessed! A Mother's Day Story
by Sarah Quigley
For as long as I remember, my mother has felt sorry for herself and gotten anxiety attacks, or gotten anxiety attacks and felt sorry for herself. Shrinks, pills, prayers, massage, nothing has helped. So I, her only daughter, every so often, come up with a ploy. Today I found myself with a new TV on the front seat of my old sedan. I'd deliver it to her, so she could see Oprah, at least, brighter and larger. On the way, I stopped for fries and a drink, and as I drove through to pay, glumly wondered why in the world I had to draw such a morose mother out of the hat. At the little window, a man took my two bucks, glanced down at the big Sony next to me, and said, "Why, God has blessed you, I see. That's good. That's good." His Jamaican accent made of these phrases such a soothing lullaby. I almost cried.
"Yes, you're right of course."
I pulled away and began to laugh out loud. It was funny to think about a woman feeling sorry for herself because she has a mother who feels sorry for herself. The traffic light changed, red to green. "Go ahead. Be blessed and bless. It's okay my child," said a sweet motherly voice that soundeed a lot like mine.
Sarah Quigley is a poet, writer and author of The Little Book of Courage: A Three Step Process to Overcoming Fear and Anxiety (Conari Press, 2002).