“And he said, “Let me tell you a secret, about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said daddies don’t just love their children every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen, it’s a love without end, amen”- George Strait

I hadn’t heard this song in quite a long time. It popped up on the music service I use under the music list of “Time Capsule.” Tucked between “99 Luft Balloons” and “Pink Houses,” there was a song recorded in 1990 that knocked me down. Substitute “Mother’s love” in the lyrics and that sums it up.

Those tiny humans grew up. Sports, Band, Speech and Debate, Robotics, and Scouts consumed entire years of our lives. My life as a mother was all boxed up with my kids’ activities. I’ve asked adults I know from that time if I was what is now called a helicopter parent. Overwhelmingly, the answer was no. Many of them said I was just a big kid as I planned and participated in their activities.

Now, they are adults. One I see daily. One lives out of state and COVID-19 changed things, but we talk at least weekly. The last one, well, I don’t know much. Literally everyone says to give it time. It’s been over a year, with the exception of 24 hours in August, since I was cut from her life. There’s a puzzle piece she holds that fits right in my heart. I literally have no idea why she did what she did.

But, I want her to know that I will always be here. I wish she would contact me. And that she knows it’s a love without end, Amen.