I woke up to my morning alarm and rolled my eyes and grumpily rolled out of bed as I looked outside at the perfect “sleeping in” weather to realize I had a full day of work ahead of me. I thought about all the things I could be doing instead of this and in the course of my annoyance my heart stopped and my knees went a bit weak as I remembered a day like today.

~ Twelve years ago I lay awake clinching to my mother’s hand, terrified I would lose her again and overjoyed that I had her for another day.

 The day I thought would never come finally came on a day like today. After 3 weeks of wondering if I would ever see you again, 21 days of unfinished meals, and countless times of wishing you would return to me, I finally received the call that made all the crying and the times I came in your room wishing you would be there to tell me everything had been a dream, okay.

I remember the phone call with your voice at the end of the line telling me you were coming home, as I quivered – maybe from crying so hard, and maybe from joy or maybe from exhaustion from leaping around my house telling everyone you were coming home. ​When you arrived you were dirty and had more duct-take than I would ever wish to see on any human being and I thought for a moment that only a beast could kidnap someone like you and think it was okay to kidnap a person like you.  ~

On a day like today I got an opportunity to learn all the things from her I never thought I would get to learn, and years of mother-daughter fights I didn’t think I’d get to have, and many awkward moments when I’d realize I’m turning into you.

On a day like today, waking up early to go to work no longer seems so bad.