A Daydream for a Mother

Last year I was able to publish my first poetry collection, Between the Tides, on Mother’s Day. This year, I wanted to keep up the tradition so I’m happy to share with the world Volume 1 of the Daydreams on the Sherbet Shore.

The reason for wanting to make this a tradition is simple and singular: I love my Mom and I want to not only make her proud but to give back on the day where I celebrate the artform known as motherhood. As a mother, my mom has taught me plenty of lessons and we’ve shared some of my fondest conversations in memory. I’ve shared bottles of wine and inappropriate jokes the likes of which most people would blush at. That’s my Mom. She’s such a character that I felt the need to capture her essence in Mrs. Fawn within the Human Cycle and she’ll appear a lot more… it’s not that I’ll make it so, it’s that I have no choice, nor do I want there to be a choice. My default setting is to have my mother at the top of my mind in all I do.

One of the most important lessons she taught me was that if you did your best, you TRULY did your best, then whatever the result, it’s OK. It’s good enough. But if that there was one bit more you could have given, then you should ask yourself why you didn’t give it. Although I always do my best in all I do, I apply this to me as a person, a husband, a son, a friend, a professional and most definitely as a writer.

When people ask me if I don’t think I’m being too ambitious or if I should slow down, I think of Mom and her lesson. If there is energy within me to put my best face on, to help others, to use my words for good or to entertain or bring a smile to my face, you can be sure I will invest it in that.

Giving my best is the least I can do for my Mom. She’s shown me that not by saying it, but by being the example of a human of the highest caliber. She has flaws, such wonderful flaws and she’s happy and she’s also taught me that committing mistakes, having flaws, not being perfect and being let down are acceptable outcomes when you’re giving your best.

I give my best because I learned that it is the best way to being happy. And trust me, the lesson has stuck and will stick… I had one hell of a teacher.

So here’s to my Mom and all the wonderful mothers out there. In your hands is the ability to change the future for the better, with kindness, with patience, with communication and with love, four treasures I have been fortunate enough to enjoy for almost 35 years on this Earth.

I love you mom, and in the garden of my life, I look at the flower of you and give my all to harvest my best.

Your loving son,

La jota de Estrada (Estrada's J)